You Don't Know Jack
by RedLightsRedFights
Summary: There is another detective that is well-known in the world besides L: Jack, the faceless Cyber Detective that uses technology and immaculate hacking skills to undo criminals and expose them to the police. Though outwardly sarcastic and humorous, Jack carries a dark past that haunts her almost as much as the Shinigami, Nox. (WARNING: This story touches on sensitive subjects. LxOC)
1. S'up Ryu

_Jack_

I shoved my hands in my pockets as I stared up at the screen overhead. My large headphones were set awkwardly on my head to where one ear was free and able to hear the broadcast. The air had a cold bite and as the breath left my nostrils, small clouds of vapor to floated before my face. The crowd around me was hushed. They gaped up at the display overhead, like gawking baby birds awaiting food from their mothers.

"I am Lind L. Tailor," the man on the screen declared. "Otherwise known as L. And I am the one leading this investigation against Kira."

My brow pinched. _L, huh? No. No, not likely._

"This successive killing is unforgivable and must not go unpunished," Tailor stated. The man was middle-aged, bore long dark hair, and his eyes seemed cold and empty. "I make a promise to all of you that I will find Kira and punish him for what he is doing. I can think of no better word to describe his work than evil."

I bit my lip, leaning back on the balls of my feet and letting out a long breath. It was only a matter of time, that much I was sure of. I kept my eyes on the screen, waiting. After a few moments, when Tailor was mid-sentence, he seized up. The man clutched his chest, eyes bulging, cords on his neck springing out. Then, he fell face down on the desk he was seated at, unmoving.

The crowd around me gasped and cried out.

"It was Kira!" someone shouted. "He killed him! Just like that!"

There were some people moving forward to gather Tailor and pull him off camera. The screen cut to black. People began to yell and panic. I stood still, patiently staring at the display.

There was a chuckle near my ear. I didn't bother looking back at the figure looming behind me. I shared the same smile I knew had to be on his face.

"Three... two... one..." I murmured under my breath.

Sure enough, the screen flared back to life, this time showing a stylized black L with a white background showing.

"I honestly didn't truly expect it to work," a strange, distorted voice said, half laughing. "But you don't disappoint, do you Kira? You can kill without being present. Fascinating."

The crowd had gone back to gaping baby birds.

"You see, Kira," the voice that had to be L's said, "Lind L. Tailor was a convict who had been sentenced to death, but his crimes and arrest had been kept from the media. Now I am curious, Kira, can you kill me? Go on. Do it. Kill me right here and now. I'm waiting!"

A long pause went by. The crowd seemed to be collectively holding their breath, but vapor still poured from my nostrils. When L chuckled, so did I.

"You can't do it, can you?" L said. "It seems you're limited to who you are able to kill... you see Kira, contrary to what this broadcast stated in the beginning, this is only being aired in the Kanto region in Japan. I thought I would try here first to narrow down your location. If this failed, then I would systematically check each region throughout... it was going to be quite time consuming... but you saved me a step. You're first kill was unnoticed by the police. The phantom killer of Shinjuku. His information was only aired in Japan, so naturally it made sense that you would be here. That's why I aired this broadcast in the most populated region in the country first."

The people around me were awestruck. I found myself grinning a little, shaking my head. L was just as I remembered him.: cunning, efficient, and a touch snarky.

"I'm not certain what your motivations for all these killings are, to be honest," L said. "But I look forward to finding out, when I catch you. I hope we meet again soon, Kira."

And the screen went black.

I pushed my headphone back in place, letting the upbeat techno music fill my world again. As the crowd burst out into a mess of senseless babble and swarmed around like confused ants, I turned and began walking purposefully down the street. A shadow followed me, one that no one paid any attention to. One that no one noticed as it passed right through them.

Time to see if L wanted my help again.

* * *

 _L_

L crouched before the computer screen, biting down on his thumbnail. It seemed even on Christmas Day, Kira could not bother to stop killing. Every hour on the hour, someone was dying.

As soon as he informed the police that he suspected Kira might be a student, the death pattern changed. He already had FBI looking into the police and their families. But so far, no one had reported any suspicious behavior.

L was beginning to grow impatient. None of it made sense—who had this kind of power to just kill without being present? What sort of weapon did Kira have?

A small ping sounded from the speakers. L frowned, looking down at his notifications to see he received an email. An email on the account he'd only ever given to one person. He didn't move his mouse to click on it. He knew better than to open that message. Instead, he got up and headed across the room, bare feet padding along the cool floor. From a small suitcase, he pulled out a laptop and popped it open.

This laptop bore no important files, was not connected to any of his other accounts, and had one of the best firewalls that money could buy. One would probably find it silly to place such excessive security on a laptop with no information.

But considering who sent that email...

L opened the laptop and logged in. It took a moment for the thing to boot up. He crouched with the device placed on the floor before him, hands hovering over the keyboard.

Why now? It made no sense. He'd only broadcast in the Kanto region of Japan.

The laptop was fully awake now. The notification flared to life in the corner.

L hesitated, hovering the cursor over the open button. He could see the subject line. It was in English, and read: _"Heard about your latest project. Wanna hand? ;)"_

 _A winking face?_ _Of all the..._

L clicked.

The email popped open and L was surprised his laptop didn't immediately crash. There was a picture of a playing card, the Jack of Hearts. Beneath it was a typed message. L leaned forward to read.

" _S'up Ryu,_

 _I really enjoyed the display you did with that whole broadcast thing. Hollywood would love you. I was in the neighborhood and got wind of this latest project of yours. Gotta say, this seems pretty steep, even for you. To be honest, I've been looking for a new project myself. Was wondering if you would like my expertise on the matter. Who knows? Maybe it'll come in handy._

 _Of course, from what I've found out on my own, it might not be productive to work over computers with this. We all know how fragile they can be. So, here's the deal: I know how badly you wanted to meet before and I shot you down. But I think this project might require both of us to take some risks._

 _Probably best not to document where we meet on here. So how about you send someone to the Dotour outside the Komagome station? There will be someone there to pass on my message. You know what to tell them to say._

 _Think of this as my Christmas gift. Though I expect one in return you know—it's okay if it's late._

 _Stay toasty,_

 _Jack."_

L stared at the message for a moment, then he read it through again.

Jack. He hadn't heard—or rather _seen_ —that name since the Detective Wars a few years ago. That case was in the United States, and all of Jack's cases took place in either North America or Europe. What was he doing in Japan? It made no sense.

To be honest, Jack was one of the very few things in this world that L didn't understand. He had never seen Jack in person, didn't know how old he was, what nationality he held, or how in the hell he was so talented with hacking. But Jack did help him with a very critical case, along with Naomi Misura. If it wasn't for Jack's intervention, a lot more lives could have been lost before L finally tracked down the culprit.

However, this wasn't just complicated because L didn't know anything about the famed "Cyber Detective." Jack had information that could prove to be fatal in this case; information that made Jack a huge liability. To bring him into this... if something went wrong... if there was one slip-up...

L bit his thumbnail. This Kira thing was complicated enough... why was Jack coming around _now?_

He exited out of the email window and shut down the laptop, taking out the battery afterward for good measure. It had been a risk to even open that thing, but hopefully it wasn't enough for Jack to do anything drastic, like find L's current location.

Getting back up, L padded over to his desktop again and crouched down before it. He took out his cell phone and swiftly dialed. It only rang once before a voice spoke. It was low and calm, teased with age.

"Ryuzaki?"

"Watari," L said. "I need to speak to Chief Yagami. Are you still at the station?"

"I am," Watari replied. "I will get you connected now."

L hung up and looked to his monitor, loosing a long exhale from his nostrils. The Kira case as a whole was a huge risk, but this... this was something further. He knew it was just as dangerous to ignore Jack as it was to reach out to him. Jack wasn't someone he could leave to wander Japan right now.

The police station flared to life before him and L leaned toward his mic, letting his distorted voice carry over to the awaiting, confused-looking officers.

"Something has come up. An old colleague has contacted me," he said. "I would like for two of you to go meet his messenger."

Chief Soichiro Yagami was the closest to the camera. He frowned at it, his lines deepening around his mouth, mustache widening with the quizzical expression. "Pardon me?"

"An old colleague?" Shuichi Aizawa spoke up next. He bore a thick afro of dark hair and his brows knit as he stepped forward. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"He goes by Jack," L said. "Admittedly, I do not know much about them beyond that. He is just as secretive as I am. But I do know we can trust him. He was detrimental to me in a case a few years ago. He's worked cases before in North America and Europe. He's been called a number of other things such as 'Cyber Detective' and 'Tech Crasher.'"

"I've heard of him," Yagami murmured. "He's been behind uncovering several scandals and helped pinpoint the identities of serial killers, rapists... all sorts of criminals. But you're correct, it's always been in North America and Europe. Why is he here in Japan?"

"To assist us," L responded. "Given his deduction abilities, there is a possibility he guessed that Kira was in Japan just as I did. With his skill in tech, he could have found reports online even across regions of the Shinjuku killer."

"So—this Jack—he wants to help?" Totua Matsuda asked. He was the youngest of the officers with a mop of dark hair and a boyish grin that was full of hope. "Do you think he'll be able to help figure out how to stop Kira?"

"Jack has a number of skills that will be more than useful to us," L assured them. "I know for certain that he has someone waiting on his behalf at the Dotour outside Komagome station with information on where we can meet and discuss further plans. I can't go myself, for obvious reasons. Chief, could you appoint two officers to go in my stead to collect information?"

"Why are you making us do your leg work?" Hideki Ide demanded. He was a thin man with center-parted, dark hair. His eyes were narrowed to slits. "Why can't you just go meet them yourself if he is so trustworthy?"

"It is more complicated than that," L said.

"It's fine, Ide," Yagami said. "I will go myself. Matsuda, you will go with me."

Matsuda nodded, standing taller. "Yes, sir!"

"You're certain this isn't a trap?" Kanzo Mogi asked warily. He was the largest of the remaining officers, but often seemed more gentle than the others. "I mean, what if it's Kira trying to lure you out?"

"Jack is not Kira, of that I'm certain," L said. "As I told you, he's assisted me with a case before, in a different country. The way he contacted me was a way that only he could, no one else has access to it."

"We'll go get Jack's message and bring it back," Yagami said.

"Make sure when you greet the messenger and they ask you about milk tea, you tell them that milk tea in Japan is referred to as _royal_ milk tea," L instructed. "Then they will know to trust you are the ones I sent."

"Understood," Matsuda said. "That seems like an odd pass-phrase."

"It's a long story. Thank you both for your assistance, have Watari call when you return." L closed the window before more could be said and leaned back on the balls of his feet.

Jack... What in the world was he doing in Japan? What made him decide to take on the Kira case, of all things?

The only thing L could do for now was wait.

* * *

 _Jack_

I leaned against the wall, wondering if sending out my message on Christmas Day was really the best idea. It was pretty cold and I could use a nice cup of milk tea. Or _royal_ milk tea, I supposed. Too bad the Dotour I was hanging outside of was closed for the holiday.

The air around me bit into my flesh. A shiver arrested my spine and I rubbed my forearms in desperation to get warm. Hopefully L wouldn't dally on getting some people down here to take my message. I adjusted my beanie and thick jacket carefully, wondering if I looked presentable.

This country made me feel incredibly under-dressed. Nearly everyone wore suits and business dresses and coats. Meanwhile I was rocking my faded jeans, my thick, oversized, pink hoodie, my black beanie with the short visor on it, and of course, my ever present large yellow headphones. I found that Japan preferred black, white, and gray for colors, but I couldn't help but dress loudly. It was the bright pieces that always caught my attention.

Snow was gently falling. I scuffed my blue boots against the ground, pulling my yellow scarf tighter around my face. I had told L that one of my messengers would be waiting for him. But to be honest, it could only be me. I didn't trust anyone else to get this right. In fact, it had been a pretty long time since I've spent consistent time with any other human being for more than two days, save hotel staff.

Of course, I had another type of company.

Something tugged on my sleeve and I let out a long breath through my nostrils. I slowly lifted one headphone.

"What?" I asked softly, speaking my native language of English.

"Do you really think he's going to show up?" The voice to my left was raspy and low, like someone decided to gargle whiskey after eating broken glass. It too, spoke English.

"In person? Of course not," I replied. "But someone will come. He won't ignore me."

"I still don't understand why you're going through all of this," the voice said.

"Have you learned nothing of me from our time together?" I let out a small laugh. "Come now, Nox. This is a challenge, and I have the key to solving it: you."

I shot a glance toward the creature beside me. Nox was humanoid in nature: tall, lean, bearing arms, legs, and a head, fingers and toes. He wore a long ragged black coat with a high collar over an equally dark shirt and pants. There were gloves on his long-fingered hands and heavy-looking boots on his feet. His hair was white as the snow falling around us, and it fell over his head like a shock of ice, sticking out unnaturally to the right side. One of his eyes seemed completely normal, ice-blue in color while the other was covered by a black eye-patch. His grin was wide and his canines were elongated and sharp. His skin was almost as pale as his hair.

"I could just kill you," Nox suggested, tilting his head. "You should be honored I'm actually giving you a choice."

"You and I both know you won't," I told the Shinigami, my tone bored as I looked down the street toward the station. "You gave me this Death Note yourself. You did it for a reason."

Nox let out an irritated grunt. "Yeah, but usually when we give humans a Death Note, they _use_ them."

"Sorry, the whole not going to heaven or hell thing is a little off putting," I said.

I replaced my headphone and turned up the music on my iPod. Nox seemed to get the hint and he didn't bother me again. I honestly didn't know Nox's end game, but what I did know was that whoever was causing all these sudden heart attacks of criminals had a Death Note as well. I couldn't let it continue. Before I stopped criminals for fun, for the thrill of the challenge. Sure, there was a certain level of moral satisfaction, I supposed, but I always had a disconnect to that.

Then, about seven months ago, shit changed, and shit changed fast. I had to crack a case that was a little too close to home; too close for comfort. My reward for it was a funeral and Nox's Death Note. It was a game changer. Something that took the landscape of my world and smeared all the paint until it wasn't recognizable.

The Death Notes were something I could not allow to exist in this world. I would have already destroyed Nox's, but he was kind enough to clue me in on a few of the rules. One: If I destroyed the notebook, all my memories retaining to it would vanish. Two: He could always get a new one from the Shinigami King in his realm.

So I spent the last seven months with Nox, waiting for any signs of another human having one of these death tools. Then the criminal deaths stirred. After a little research as the killings continued, I figured out Japan was going to be the place I needed to be. There was one criminal death toward the beginning, the same one that L noted in his broadcast, that had caught my eye.

Thing was, I didn't have the resources L did. I couldn't just rally the Japanese police force or any of the secret services or any potentially lethal people I had working for me to help me catch Kira. I was alone; there was only so much one hacker genius could do. Which was why I was there, on a small market street in Japan, in the bitter December cold, on Christmas.

Yeah, happy holidays to me.

After about a half hour longer of waiting, two figures appeared out of the tunnel leading into the station. They began heading up the street in my direction. I didn't bother straightening up or taking off my headphones. There were two men. The older one bore almost honey-colored brown hair, a mustache, and glasses. The other had a mop of black hair, was clean-shaven, and appeared so nervous that he might trip over his own feet.

They spotted me rather quickly, considering how empty the street was and how loudly I was dressed. Of course they couldn't see Nox, not without touching the Death Note. Nox had already warned me that if I told the police or L what the exact cause was for the killings, he would be obligated to kill me. The Shinigami had to avoid confusion in the human world.

So helping L catch Kira was going to take some creative thinking. Good thing I was skilled in that area.

The two men paused before me, both looking uncertain. I perked a brow at them as they stared and I slowly removed a headphone. They were dressed well enough: suits with fancy overcoats. They could definitely be police officers.

"Can I help you?" I asked in Japanese. The language had been a little tricky to get the hang of, but I was fluent now, granted I still carried an accent.

"Uh..." The older man seemed confused. He frowned at me. "Miss, are you waiting for someone? The Dotour is closed today..."

I almost smiled. He was trying to get me to say my pass phrase. Smart man, not just giving out the answer to it randomly.

"Yeah, shame," I replied. "I heard they have great milk tea."

The younger man's eyes lit up. "Actually, in Japan, it's called royal milk tea!" he said with way more enthusiasm than what would be normal. The older man cast him a slightly irritated look.

"Oh, I see!" I said, smiling. "You know, I know of a new place in town, a tea house? Here's their card, you should show it to your friends!"

I pulled a card out of my pocket. On one side, it was the Jack of Hearts. The other side had some writing on it.

The older man took it. He nodded at me. "I think we'd love to see this new tea house. Thank you for the recommendation."

"I have a friend that loves the place," I added. "He said that the milk— er, _royal_ milk tea is VIP only. Odd thing to say, but he's an odd fellow." I smiled.

Best for them not to realize I was Jack for as long as possible. I wasn't sure who in the police force I could trust yet. Throwing them off by referring to a male friend might do the trick. L didn't know if I had people working for me or not.

"Thank you, miss!" the younger man said, bowing low. "We appreciate your time."

"Have a good rest of your holiday," the older one said.

They turned and walked back toward the station. I let out a long sigh and turned to head in the opposite direction.

"That was easy," Nox noted as he followed after me.

"Surprisingly so," I agreed before putting my headphone back over my open ear.

* * *

 _L_

Watari had brought L the card. It was the best thing to do, he did not want its messaged shown over web cam or delivered over anything that could record it. He didn't want anyone saying its words aloud. Kira had eyes inside the police, and he had a feeling Jack knew that too.

One side of the card was the Jack of Hearts; Jack's trademark. The other side was white with writing on it. It was written in English, and the penmanship was neat but not overly elaborate.

The top line was simple.

 _PUT THIS IN HIS HAND_

An instruction not to discuss it over phone or video, as L wanted to avoid. Beneath it was the full message.

 _Could Jack alleviate failure? Assume Redirection._

 _This will always be your guaranteed chance to win._

For a long moment, L just stared at the card. It was coded. Of course it was.

Suddenly, there was a ping from his computer.

L looked over at his monitor to see that Jack had sent him yet another email. He got to his feet and went over to the laptop. It took a moment to power up and load. His knee bounced relentlessly as he waited. Finally, he opened Jack's email, and it was almost as simple as the message on the card.

" _1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Sentences are words. A new line has different rules. Try counting._

 _You've got this. ;)"_

L let out a breath. Jack had given him the key to the code. They had used codes before, but Jack never used the same key twice. Said it was smarter that way, so no one would be able to break their coded messages.

Refocusing on the message and keeping the key in mind, L set to work. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. There were six words on the top line of the message.

 _Could Jack alleviate failure? Assume redirection._

Sentences are words... So there was a word in each of the two sentences. Only two words? Odd. But obviously the number sequence was his answer to what they were.

L got a sticky note. He gripped a pen and wrote down the first letter of the first word, the second letter of the second word, and so on. It was a simple code really. He got his two words swiftly.

 _Call me._

Suddenly the second part of the key mad perfect sense. _A new line has different rules, try counting._ So he did, he counted the number of letters in each of the words in the second line. There weren't enough words for each word to be it's own single digit, but guaranteed had ten letters in it, a clever way to get the number zero in. Soon, he had a phone number. 446-241-0623.

Of course, Jack hadn't wanted the police to have her number. It was for him and him alone. Now they could talk without using just typed messages and writing notes for the first time.

L let out tight breath through his teeth. He was going to have to find Jack one way or another. If Kira somehow found out about him and what he knew... L could not take chances.

He flipped open his phone, dialing. It rang only once.

"Ryuzaki?"

"Watari," L said. "I need the police to do something."

* * *

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTE:**_

 _ **This story has been written up to over 130,000 words, and I will be putting up a new chapter every Friday until it's caught up-though I hope to keep writing more in the document I have so that it can keep weekly updates until it's complete.**_

 ** _I hope you guys enjoy Jack and Nox as much as I have over the process of writing this. Thanks, as always, for the reads, reviews, follows and favorites!_**

 ** _-Red_**


	2. Not What I Was Expecting

_Jack_

A day had passed since I gave L my card. I was laying on my futon, music pumping through my headphones. I had rented out a small apartment under one of my fake identities, Nina Forner. It was one-room with a bathroom only large enough for one person to stand in and the tub was so small I had to fold myself in half to sit in it, but it was ideal for me. There was no hotel receptionist to see me every day, and it was considered an Air BnB so the only other people around were tourists, which helped me fit in.

I saw Nox leaning on the far wall out of the corner of my eye. He looked like he was trying to get my attention but I ignored him. I focused on the lyrics of my music, letting the ebb and flow of the instruments carry me.

Convincing L to let me help him would be crucial, not only for the thrill of the case itself, but finding that Death Note and destroying it. I had a feeling he would want me around him considering what I knew—let alone my skills with tech. I was surprised he didn't call me shortly after I gave him the code's key. However, I had a sneaking suspicion of what was taking him so long.

Nox was now looming over me. He waved a boney hand at my face, looking irritable. I sighed and moved one of my headphones off my ear.

"What?" I snapped. Once again, when the two of us spoke, we stuck to English.

Nox rolled his eyes. "You can't just keep ignoring me. I'm bored to tears over here."

"Sounds like a personal problem." I beamed at him.

Nox scowled. "I don't understand you. What the hell is making you try so hard? What do you care if someone in a country far from yours is causing trouble?"

"He's killing people _all over the world_ , in case you didn't notice. When you gave me this notebook, you told me you wanted me to make a difference," I murmured, fixating my gaze on the ceiling. "Well, here's what I'm doing."

"I kinda meant for you to kill people, not go out of your way to save 'em."

"I'm not a death god, Nox."

"Well, maybe I can help."

I let my gaze fall back onto his good eye. "You? Help? Since when?"

"I helped you when I gave you that notebook."

"You let me know that someone tried to kill me and failed miserably, leaving you bored."

"My point is..." Nox went on with an irritated exhale, "if you'd like, I can grant you the power to see other Death Note owners."

I raised a brow. "Excuse me?"

"You see..." Nox crouched down at my side, grinning widely. "Shinigami have the power to give the humans that carry their Death Notes the power of their sight. The Shinigami Eyes. With those, you can see anyone's name and their remaining lifespan over their heads—as long as you can see the majority of their face. The trick is, if you happen to see another Death Note owner's face, nothing will show up. You'll instantly be able to pick Kira out of a crowd."

I sat up, staring at him. "And you just _now_ tell me this?"

"It seems like a waste to offer it to someone who isn't killing," Nox said. "You realize that Shinigami usually wait up to 39 days before showing up to a human? And that's _after_ the human's used the notebook at least once."

"You showed up to me the moment you gave me the notebook," I said. "Why?"

"Because the first human I put my hopes on was a moron," Nox said. "Now do you want the Shinigami Eyes or not?"

"What does it cost?" I asked.

Nox shrugged. "Half of your remaining lifespan."

I snorted. "Oh, is that all?" I flopped back down on the futon, popping my headphone back over my ear.

I saw Nox mouthing to me and gesturing angrily, but I ignored him. I didn't understand Nox's motivations, but I wasn't about to make a deal with a god of death. I knew he wasn't going to hurt me—he'd had plenty of opportunities and warned me he could kill me and take back his notebook whenever he wanted, but he never did. It was like he was waiting for something.

There was a sudden buzzing in my pocket. I grinned and sat up, taking the headphone off my ear again.

"Is it him?" Nox asked. His skeletal expression went from angry to curious; he always seemed interested in what I was going to do next.

I grinned. "Show time," I said.

With a flick of my wrist, I flipped open the phone and brought it to my ear.

"All work and no play... how does the rest go?" I answered in English.

There was a brief pause, and then a smooth male voice responded to me. "Makes Jack a dull _girl_ , apparently. I had my suspicions."

"Did you?" I teased. "Was it some Sherlockian way you deduced that I was lacking in the dangly-bits department?"

"...How mature of you."

"For the record, you sound kind of cute," I added. "So, Ryu, are we playing?"

"I admit, your assistance was useful in the past," the man I knew to be L replied. I was actually impressed he wasn't using a voice distorter.

"You're welcome, by the way," I said. "That BB guy was a treat."

"Why are you in Japan?" L queried.

"You weren't the only one who noticed that early kill of Kira's here, and that criminal's info only being broadcast in Japan," I said. "Come on, now, Ryu, you know me better than that."

"I suppose so. But why this case?"

"Seriously, this easily is the biggest case of our lives. Bigger than BB." I propped one leg on the other's knee, pointing my toes to the ceiling.

"You've never been in it for the fame," L pointed out.

"Of course not, it's the _challenge,_ " I replied. "Now come on, Ryu. Let's get this show on the road. By the way, I'm proposing we officially switch Kira's name to Moriarty. Come on, you know it's perfect."

"You're going on about Sherlock Holmes again?" L sighed.

"Maybe," I said with a grin. "Then again, now that I think of it, this guy isn't quite up to Moriarty standards yet. Gotta wait until he starts screwing around with you personally, since you're the Sherlock here."

"You're in the Air BnB near the Komagome station, correct?" L said, ignoring my rant altogether.

I nearly laughed. Part of my decision in staying so close to the station was because it was too obvious. That, and I didn't want to go far to meet L's messengers. Ah, sloth, my true deadly sin. L must have tracked my phone. It was easy enough to do without calling one these days with how cell phones had GPS. Of course, I was more than capable of disabling that feature on my phone, and L knew it.

"I must say, part of me didn't expect you to let me find you," he said.

I shrugged despite him not being able to see the motion. "I want to help, Ryu. This is a pretty intense situation. So, is there a car waiting for me outside?"

"Watari. He will bring you to me. You'll have a few moments to pack."

"How polite of you," I said.

L had already hung up the phone.

I gathered my things with a speed granted by both excitement and anxiety. I knew why L had tracked me down, despite not being sure if he would be able to. He was someone of calculation and care. He could not have someone knowing what I knew out and about with Kira on the loose. Even if I would never divulge that information willingly, he could not risk it slipping from me should I be forced to tell; not that I would break easily. To be honest, after the past three years, I didn't know what would make me shatter. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger: a cliche and lyrics to a song I didn't really care for, but the words held weight to me.

In any case, meeting L and working with him was key, but I was saying goodbye to my freedom for a while.

"What's going on?" Nox asked as I shoved my clothes back into my suitcase.

"L sent me a ride," I told him. "So I won't be able to talk to you easily from here on. Try not to be an annoyance."

Nox scowled. "You should really show me some more respect, you know."

I shoved my small bag of bathroom essentials in the suitcase and grinned cheekily up at the Shinigami. "You should really earn it."

Nox huffed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his long coat. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"Likewise," I shot back as I zipped the suitcase shut.

I grabbed my satchel that held my laptop and other valuable belongings and slung it across my torso. I then gripped the suitcase and rolled it across the room. After shoving my feet into my runners, I stepped outside, locked the door behind me, and headed out of the building. Nox floated sullenly after me.

An elderly man with a thick white mustache bowed and took off his hat as I approached him just outside. He seemed surprised by my appearance, blinking for a moment with a slightly dropped jaw, but he swiftly recovered, smiling at me.

"I assume you are the one who contacted Ryuzaki," he said in English. Ryuzaki was L's alias, or Ryu as I liked to call him. "What may I call you?"

Of course he had to know I was Jack, but perhaps it would be best to stick to an alias as well.

"Nina," I said. "Nina Forner."

"Thank you, Miss Forner," the man said. "I am Watari. Let me assist you with your things."

I doubted that was his real name. The guy gave off a strangely familiar air to me—he acted and moved like my grandfather did. Of course, my grandfather died when I was very little, but all the same, I felt a twang of nostalgia go off in the back of my head.

Watari popped the trunk to the sleek black car and hauled my suitcase inside as I set my satchel next to it. Once it was closed and my things were secure, Watari opened the back door for me. The seats were leather and the interior of the car was toasty.

"Are these seats heated?" I asked Watari as he got into the driver's seat.

"Yes," he answered as he pulled onto the street. "Do you have any preference for the radio?"

I shook my head, pointing at my headphones. "Got it covered, but thanks."

Watari nodded. "I do not believe we ever had the pleasure to greet each other the last time Ryuzaki worked with you."

"Yeah, makes things complicated when we both have an aversion to people." I propped my elbow on the door and stared out the window, watching the buildings blur by. "So you're the one that always works with him, huh?"

"Ryuzaki and I have worked together for some time, yes," Watari responded. "Considering you match the description of the young woman who gave the officers the card for Ryuzaki, I would say you work alone."

I glanced at Nox, who had awkwardly shoved himself into the seat next to mine. His knees were almost to his chest. It nearly made me laugh, for I knew he could just fly behind us. He was just so lazy that he preferred this discomfort to putting out the effort of using his wings.

"I think I count," the Shinigami said. "You wouldn't be so interested in this case if it wasn't for me."

I winked at him before facing forward again. "For the most part, yes," I told Watari. "But for some projects—such as this one—I feel like it would be better for critical thinkers to think together. The faster one comes up with a vaccine, the more lives it saves."

"Understandable," Watari said. "I do say, I am curious about something."

"That being?" I perked a brow at the old man as he took us onto the highway.

"Did you know Ryuzaki from before?"

Watari's eyes fixated on mine in the rear view mirror. I leaned back in my seat and away from the window.

"You want to know how I know," I stated rather than asked.

Watari didn't reply. He was silent, waiting.

"There is always a way to find information if one digs deep enough," I said. "They don't call me the Cyber Detective for nothing." I winked.

"Even though certain things are never put into a single computer?" Watari asked softly.

I shrugged and looked out the window with a smile. "I'm not saying it was easy."

"I see," Watari said. His voice remained calm and polite. "Well, from what I've heard, you will be a valuable asset to the team. Tell me something, Miss Forner... have you been to London?"

Ah. I knew where this was going. I shrugged again. "I have." My smile stretched. "I'm a big fan of Sir Arthur Conan O'Doyle. Had to go see Baker Street for myself."

"Sherlock Holmes?" Watari seemed a bit closed off in that moment. His tone was still polite, but it held something odd... something akin to stone. "I'm a fan myself. Who is your favorite character?"

"Heh, strange enough, Moriarty," I said. "I like Sherlock, but something has to be said for that touch of chaos to intelligence. Too bad he's a psychopath."

We drove through Tokyo for some time before finally arriving at a rather fancy hotel. It was about 12 stories tall, silver in color with mirrored windows all around. Watari pulled up near the front entrance where a valet was waiting. He opened my door for me and helped me with my bags again. The valet driver took the car away as Watari and I headed inside.

"Fancy," I murmured once we were inside the lobby.

The floor was made up of brown and gold tile. My boots sent satisfying clacks as I walked across it. To my left was a restaurant—most likely where they served breakfast in the morning too. There were tables with deep red cloths laid over them accompanied by four chairs apiece. To my right was the receptionists desk. It was long and had three people stationed behind it. They must get a lot of customers and were well ready to always be prepared. The scent in here was nice too; it was crisp and clean like the whole building was new.

L's room was on the eleventh floor. Watari and I had a slightly awkward elevator ride up to it. I found myself glancing at the older man a few times, waiting for him to speak to me, but he remained silent. I had music still going in my right ear, so I wasn't entirely bothered, but still... It made it even more apparent that I was being escorted as a prisoner at this point.

That was the problem with contacting L, especially with this particular case. The last time I worked with him was from before I knew about the existence of Death Notes. It was before I met Nox. I had gotten too curious about the mysterious detective. I realized that the two of us locked in a competition of sorts during the Detective Wars case. Neither of us knew who the other was. All we had were our aliases: L and Jack. Every time we interacted, which was always by written word or email, we would try to pry more information from each other.

In the end, I won, and now—knowing what I know—I was a very valuable piece in this game. L wouldn't want me in Japan unless I was at his side; it was safer that way.

We finally reached L's room. Watari knocked twice before swiping the key card and opening the door.

It was a suite, of course. There was a small entry hall for people to take off their shoes and place any coats or umbrellas up.

"I will take your things to your room, Miss Forner," Watari said. "You can go to meet Ryuzaki and get some refreshments."

"Right," I replied, taking off my satchel and handing it over to him. "Thanks, Watari."

Watari bowed and slipped out of the entry hall. I took off my shoes and hoodie, hanging the latter on the coat rack. I elected to leave my beanie on and kept my iPod with me, never once taking off my headphones.

"Good luck," Nox told me. He was leaning near the doorway. "And don't forget to be careful with what you reveal."

I waved him off and stuck my tongue out at him. He only laughed. With a sigh, I left the entry hall and went into the living room.

It was spacious, to say the least. Directly ahead of me was a table with a couch and some chairs positioned around it. To the left was a hall where I saw Watari disappearing down; it led toward the bedrooms, no doubt. To the right was a dining area with a wall of windows behind it and a kitchen attached to the right of that.

I hadn't stayed in a room this fancy in a very long time.

From the kitchen, carrying a small bowl of ice cream, was a lanky young man that probably would have been tall if he stood up straight. He couldn't have been much older than myself, if not resting at my exact age. His hair was black and wild, his skin was pale as snow, and dark circles hugged the bottoms of his gray eyes. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt and jeans. The clothes hung loosely on him, as if they were a size too large. His feet were bare, his toes curled into the carpet as he paused at the sight of me.

"Not what I was expecting," I admitted to him.

L's eyes darted over me once. The motion was deliberate and calculated. He held his bowl of ice cream a bit awkwardly, his fingers gripping the rim of the bowl from above like a pale spider. His spoon was in his other hand, held by his thumb and fore finger as if he were about to conduct a symphony.

"Likewise," L replied.

With that, he padded across the room to the table and chairs. His movements were fluid and swift. He delicately placed the bowl of ice cream down and perched on one of the chairs, his toes gripping the edge of the seat like bird talons, his knees up by his chest. With deft precision, he collected some ice cream on his spoon and delivered it to his lips.

"Come, sit," he said, gesturing to the chairs and couch around him.

I took the couch, laying across it with my feet closer to L so I could look at him without craning my head around.

"Did you want some?" L gestured to his ice cream.

"Maybe later," I said with a grin. "I just ate."

L shrugged and took another spoonful of chocolate syrup-drowned vanilla dairy goodness. For a moment the only sounds were that of L's spoon grazing the side of his bowl and the music in my right ear. Of course, the detective couldn't hear that part.

"What do you already know about the Kira case?" L finally asked me.

"Probably similar things to you," I said, "considering I was led to Japan the same as you were. Kira only kills criminals, he doesn't need to be present to kill someone, and he's somewhere in the Kanto region. Thanks for narrowing that down, Bee-Tee-Dubs."

"Bee-Tee-Dubs?" L echoed dryly.

"BTW: By The Way. Bee-Tee-Dubs. I keep hip with the kids, Ryu."

L shook his head. "Anything else?"

"Well, I think that whoever Kira is, he isn't very old," I said, folding my hands in front of me and laying them on my stomach. "Like I said, he only kills criminals. He killed Lind L. Tailor mere moments after you had him accuse Kira of being evil. It's someone who's playing at being some noble symbol of justice—a vigilante of sorts. Forgive the cliche, but he's assigned himself as judge, jury, and executioner. Someone with a little more world wisdom—which typically comes from age—doesn't seem like the type to be doing this. It's someone with a big ego and someone who hates to lose and not get their way. Sure, some older adults are that way, but it seems more likely to be someone younger. Maybe even a teenager."

L took another bite of ice cream. His dark eyes only darted my way once before he refocused on his dairy treat. "Very astute of you," he noted.

"I like to think so," I agreed with a sly grin.

"Do you know anything else?" L prodded.

I knew this was his way of testing me. He wanted to see just how much value I was going to add to this case. I was tempted to tell him off for it. I didn't have a one up on the killer during the last case we did together like I did on this one. This time, I knew about Death Notes and I had Nox. Last time it was just my wits alone.

"Well," I said, glancing over at the Shinigami in question. Nox was sitting in the chair across from L on the other short end of the table. He was leaned back, one leg over the armrest, his head propped in a bony hand. I had to be careful about what I said next. "All the people Kira has killed have something in common beyond just being criminals."

L looked at me now, a brow perked. "Oh?"

I nodded. "Their names and faces have all been advertised in the media. Be it television, the papers, internet, all of them were made public and their crimes known. Some die in prison, others as they walk out of the courtroom after managing to get off with just probation. But every single one of them is known by the general public. The one that caught my interest the most was the one that died while holding hostages. You know the one, I'm sure—the one that was only broadcast here in Japan: the Shinjuku Killer."

L gave me a small nod of acknowledgment as he took another spoon of ice cream.

I pressed on when he waited. "He didn't die until his face and name were advertised. Then, _bam_. He has a heart attack and the hostages are saved. I think Kira needs those pieces of information to kill."

Nox grunted. I knew he was irritated with me. I hadn't given away the existence of Death Notes outright, but I had confirmed a piece of how they worked. Of course, I had used facts and bits of knowledge that L had access to in order to point it out. Nox couldn't do shit about that.

"Once again, Jack, very astute," L said after swallowing his ice cream and licking chocolate syrup from his lips. "I have come to similar conclusions. This is helpful, I won't have to worry about getting you up to speed. So, as you realize, using aliases during this case is imperative."

His eyes were locked onto mine at that point.

I raised my right hand. "Scouts honor," I said.

L let out a tiny breath that was barely audible. He started scraping his spoon along the bottom of his bowl for scraps of remaining ice cream. "I feel that it may only be fair if I knew something more about you."

"My natural hair color is blonde."

"And here you had me fooled that it was blue." L's gaze was unamused. "You know what I mean."

I laughed softly. "Come on now, Ryu. With how this case is working? Not likely. Tell you what, we catch Kira and I'll tell you everything you'd ever want to know." I winked at him. "Even my astrology and zodiac sign."

L directed his attention back to his empty ice cream bowl, tapping the spoon against its rim.

"You're the first person besides Watari that I have shown my face to in a long time, with knowing who I really am," L said. "I hope you understand what weight that holds. This case..."

"It's a tricky one, I know," I assured him. "I'm having plenty of firsts too, Ryu. I was hoping to stick behind a monitor for most of this."

"I will most likely require you speak to the officers at some point," L said. "The Japanese police force have been quite helpful in this case so far."

"I suppose so," I said, folding my hands behind my head.

L raised a brow at my tone. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I'm a naturally curious person, Ryu," I reminded him. "I wanted to get as much information as I could about this case before diving fully in. So... I did some... research."

L gently set his bowl and spoon on the table. He then perched his hands on his knees. Once again, the image of pale spiders struck me.

"You got into the police records?" he accused, his tone too light.

Breaking the law was something L didn't appreciate. The problem was, with how I did things and with my particular set of talents, breaking the law was sometimes necessary to get things done. I didn't have time to ask for permission to see things I needed to see. I didn't have time to wait for arrest warrants or any of that crap. I did not work for the police. I did not abide by their rules because frankly, in some cases, those rules were downright stupid.

Of course, there were some cases that L saw the need to bend the laws in his favor. He would always either look the other way or decide to ignore certain rules if it meant serving the greater good—if it meant keeping people safe and catching the culprit. So hopefully, he would tap his foot to the beat of my song on this one.

"It's not like I caused any harm," I said with a shrug. "No viruses or deleting of files or stealing of funds. I went in, took a look around, and left. I didn't even make any copies, aren't you proud of me?"

My grin didn't even make L blink.

"Those records and files are classified," he said.

"Yeah, well, not classified enough. I got in pretty easily and it's obvious that someone else is too," I said. "You told the police of your suspicions of Kira being a student because of when the times the deaths were taking place. It made sense; we came to similar conclusions, as we've discussed. But right after that, the times of the deaths changed. You can't tell me that's coincidence."

L's eyes darted down to his hands while his toes rubbed themselves as if to keep warm. He worried the folds of his jeans with his fingers.

"Yes, Kira most likely has eyes inside the police," L admitted. "But I have not yet informed the officers of my suspicions."

"Smart move." I nodded. "If you did, it would put Kira on the defense. So what did you do?"

He had to have done _something—_ I knew L too well by now. He was a man of lethal efficiency. He planned out his actions swiftly and accurately with nary a rock unturned for potential risks or mistakes. Once he had a strategy, he did not wait or second guess himself. He executed it without batting an eye. So when he saw plain evidence that Kira was getting information from the police, surely he had a counter. Possibly even had one ready before the fact, in case the issue ever rose.

"Twelve FBI agents from the US have come to Japan to investigate the officers and their families," L said. "The police are not aware of their presence for obvious reasons."

I grinned at him. "That's the Ryu I know. All right, so they're doing their investigations now?"

"They will be done by the 27th," L said. "So far... there have been no abnormal reports."

I deflated a little. "Of course not," I murmured. "But listen, Ryu. It is very difficult to hack into a system and leave without even a single trace—even for someone like me. It takes a lot of time and practice—skill too. When I was poking around the systems, I didn't see any sign of 'forced entry' so to speak."

"So you're saying they have easy access," L said.

"Easy enough," I replied. "To the point where maybe they can guess a password without having to rely on a hack. Or they're better at hacking than I am, but let's not talk of impossibilities here."

L let out a long breath and nodded. "I understand. Do you think, if you had the chance, that you could prove who had been in their systems? Even if they did guess a password?"

"Depends," I said. "If I could get my hands on the suspect's actual computer, assuming that it was the same one they used to get into the police records, I could try and find evidence of those files being on their system. Even if someone deletes files, there is always a way to recover them. They'd have to take out the hard drive or wipe it completely to make it to where I couldn't find them. But that would make the computer like it was brand new and that would be suspicious in its own right."

"So you would need physical access to their computer," L confirmed.

I nodded.

L bit his thumbnail. "If we can just narrow it down to a few suspects..."

"And have me poke around their personal computers without a warrant?" I inquired, raising my brows at him. "How scandalous of you, Ryu."

L got to his feet, collecting his bowl. "Kira is a mass murderer at this point," L said. "We cannot take chances or wait... We need to act deliberately if we mean to catch him."

"Now you're speaking my language," I called after him as he headed to the kitchen.

L placed his bowl in the sink after rinsing it off and headed back toward me. I wondered how tall he would be if he didn't slouch all the time.

"Now, Nina, was it? Nina Forner is what you're going by?" he asked.

"Yup," I said. "I have a fake passport for it and everything. Canadian, you see. From lovely Victoria Island."

L nodded. "Well, Nina, you do realize that for the time being, it would be best if you remained in the hotel room. There will always be food and refreshments. Your room has its own bathroom, and there are plenty of things to entertain you while we aren't working on the case." He gestured to the television and sound system. "If for any reason you find the urge to leave the hotel room, you will come to me first, and depending on what it is you want, we will either send Watari to gather it, or he will accompany you on your outing."

I bounced my eyebrows at him. "What's wrong, you don't trust me?" I asked.

"I do not trust Kira," L corrected. "Granted, there is very little chance that he would ever realize that you would be a value to him, but we will keep what you know and the fact that you know it to ourselves for now. That includes telling the police."

I saluted him. "Aye, sir."

L bit his thumbnail again, looking me over. "Please do not make this an issue, Nina. I would rather we didn't come to be at odds with one another while working such a delicate case. But understand I will go to great lengths in the name of safety."

His gaze was hard and it arrested my own with deadly promise. I already knew I was giving away my freedom by coming here. Again, L would bend some laws if it served his purpose in catching his enemy.

"I mean, I've got a 3DS to kill time," I said with a shrug.

L continued to stare at me.

"Sheesh, what do you want, a solemn swear?" I asked him. "Don't we need a Bible for me to put my right hand on? Or is it my left and I raise my right hand?"

"Nina."

"And do we have to call each other by those names in here?" I folded my arms. "It's not like Kira is around to hear us, _L_."

L's mouth twitched a little. It seemed like he was sucking on his cheek or biting his tongue.

"When it's just us and Watari, I suppose there is no harm," he admitted. "But never outside this room or even if the room's door or windows are open."

"So secretive."

"You're the same way, aren't you?"

"The name Jack doesn't resonate with as many people as the name L does," I told him.

"You still haven't convinced me about you behaving."

"Behaving?" I echoed. "You make it sound like I'm a child. I'm fairly certain I'm your age."

"I am childish, despite my age," L said. "Now, _Jack_ , do I have you word? You'll follow my rules?"

"Yes, okay, fine, there are you happy?" I threw my hands up in exasperation.

L looked me over and then he actually grunted with what sounded like amusement. "It really is just like our old messages."

"You know, instant messenger is a lot better now than it was three years ago," I informed him. "We could fire it up for old time's sake."

"We're in the same suite."

"What if I wake up in the middle of the night and want some water?"

"Then you'll get up and go get it."

"But what if it's dark and spoopy?"

"...Spoopy?" L looked like I had forced him to pick up a jellyfish with his bare hands.

"You really have to get hip with the kids, L." I laughed.

L perched himself on his chair again. "Perhaps you should get comfortable in your room," he suggested. "Of course, not too comfortable. We move hotels every third night."

"Oh good," I sighed as I got to my feet. "I don't like staying still anyway."

"Once you've settled, come back out here, there are some notes I want to go over with you," L called after me.

I waved my hand without looking back to show I understood.

Once in my room with the door closed firmly behind me, I set to unpacking some of my things. My room was pretty nice, just like the rest of this hotel suite. It bore a queen sized bed with elegant white sheets and a whole array of pillows. It wasn't like most hotels where they only gave out two and one had to ask for more. I made a note to myself to make a fort later.

The carpet was a soft beige and it felt like a cloud beneath my socked feet. There was a bedside table on either side of the bed, each decked out with a touch sensor lamp. There was a vanity across from the foot of the bed, allowing my to catch a glimpse of myself in its large mirror. On the right side of the room was a dresser and to the left was a desk and my private bathroom. I could spy a sink-in tub inside.

Nox went and sat on my bed, leaning forward on his knees.

"He's... actually just like you described," the Shinigami said.

I shrugged and spoke back in a low tone. "I wasn't expecting him to be so young to be honest."

"He has a certain charm about him, doesn't he?" Nox noted. "But just remember what you can and cannot discuss, Jack."

"I know," I assured him as I took my suitcase over to the dresser and sat down to take out some of my clothes. "But that doesn't mean I can't help." I met the Shinigami's eyes. "What exactly will you do once L knows it's a Death Note causing this?"

Nox chuckled. "You think he'll figure it out? Or are you going to tell him?"

"I can't tell him, you said that much," I muttered irritably. "But I will make sure he finds out one way or another. He has to—we have to stop this."

"He doesn't need to know the cause to stop this," Nox said. "Once you find Kira, you can kill him and his Shinigami will take his notebook and leave."

"Will they?" I pressed. "You didn't leave when Victor died."

"I... am a unique case."

"Nox, you can see other Shinigami right?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Will you tell me if you see one?"

Nox laughed. "I like you, Jack, but I can't just cheat. If you want to see Kira, you'll have to make my deal. I'm not helping you on this."

I huffed. Perhaps Nox wouldn't outright tell me. But if I could caught him acting odd around someone, perhaps that would be my tip off.

"Fine," I grumbled. "But what was that about me killing him? I told you, I'm not killing anyone, Nox."

"How else will you stop him?" Nox cocked his head to the side, his strange shock of white hair flickering slightly.

"L will arrest him and put him away. We'll destroy the Death Note. Look, just answer me this..." I paused with my unpacking, shoving one of the drawers close. "Say L found out about the Death Note on his own. Then what? Would you kill him?"

Nox sighed and shook his head. "I suppose not. Some Shinigami don't care about letting their humans show the Death Note to anyone they please, but I'm not one of them. I'm barely putting up with you not using the Death Note. It's a waste."

"So you'll kill me if I outright tell him. But not if he finds out on his own?"

"I guess that sums it up."

I ran my hands over my face. "You're making this way more complicated than it needs to be. If other Shinigami are okay with their humans telling others about the Death Note, why aren't you?" I whispered.

"Because most other humans don't want to go spouting off the information about the Death Notes," Nox said. "You're trying to get another one destroyed."

"Is that so bad?"

"It's bad for what I'm trying to do."

"Yeah, you've still neglected to talk to me about that." I finished with the clothes, electing to leave some of them packed since we would be moving hotels. I got to my feet and snatched my bathroom essentials bag and moved headed for my private restroom."If you want to stop me from destroying that Death Note, you might as well kill me, Nox."

Nox growled under his breath. "Well, what you're doing might help too."

I got the sudden urge to grab the soap dish and chuck it at him. "You make no sense."

Nox shrugged. "You don't make any sense to me either. But here we are, stuck at this impasse."

I set out all my bathroom goods and then faced the Shinigami. "I understand your rules, as ridiculous as they are. You just need to understand my intentions."

"I do," Nox said. "Just don't make me kill you Jack. Like I said, I like you." His grin nearly reached his ears.

I waved him off and went back into my room. I figured I'd spent a little too much time in here, so I swiftly changed into some pajamas (after making sure Nox wasn't looking) and then headed back into the living room.

This was where it would begin. The first real step toward ending this madness that was the Death Notes. I knew I had a slim chance of doing this without L, and maybe with me here, he wouldn't do anything to get himself killed while trying to solve this impossible case.


	3. You Are So Bizarre

_L_

L was not expecting Jack to be... well, _Jack._

There were a few times that he had suspicions about Jack being female, or perhaps a male with interests in the same sex. During their conversations over email and instant messaging, she had dropped hints about "cute boys" or that she enjoyed the occasional "eye candy." That last comment was when L had asked her what she was doing at a Pro Wrestling match when they had a case to work.

But even so, a young woman around his age and with her... mannerisms... that wasn't what he had prepared himself for.

When Jack came into his suite's living room, L had taken in her outfit first. All of it contained bright, loud colors. She had a pink T-shirt that had the word "TRICKY" stamped across it in jagged white lettering. Her jeans had holes at the knees and she was wearing yellow leggings beneath them. Her socks were mismatched; one with a pattern of cat heads all along it, the other with peace signs.

Then there was her hair. It was the color of the sky on a cloudless day. It was short—shorter than L's own hair. Some bangs poked out from beneath a black beanie, and a few strands were showing on the sides and at the nape of her neck. On her head was a pair of bright yellow headphones, and since he had seen her, one was always over her right ear, the left remained open to allow her to hear. Its cord traveled to her pocket where he assumed was a media player of some kind.

L remembered Jack talking about how much she loved music. She'd even sent L links to listen to songs during their case, telling him that their lyrics or sound reminded her of their situation. L recalled one song was called "Circus for a Psycho." That one she stated reminded her of BB. After listening to it, he didn't blame her for drawing the comparison.

Now, L was getting a pot of tea going—royal milk tea to be specific. It was the one fact that he had managed to obtain from Jack during their first case. Royal milk tea was something she loved. She claimed that she had it for the first time at her grandfather's house. He often went abroad, she'd said, and so he would bring her back trinkets and goodies from all the countries he went to. After he went to Japan, he wanted to learn how to make royal milk tea himself, he'd liked it so much. So he'd made it for her, and she too fell in love with the beverage.

Jack had told L a lot of stories during their last case. That was the only one he believed was true.

Of course, when she first told him over IM, she'd called it simply milk tea. L had had to correct her. He could still remember the conversation vividly. It was late at night, and the screen of his computer was the only source of light in the room. At the time, they were using a private IM service with screen names to throw off anyone that might see them. L had chosen Masayoshi, which was the Japanese word for Justice.

Jack, meanwhile, had tactfully chosen ButtNugget.

L couldn't quite remember how they got on the subject of her story with her grandfather, but he did remember the conversation that followed.

 _ **Masayoshi:**_ _He made it the way they do in Japan?_

 _ **ButtNugget:**_ _Yeah. I think so. That's what he said, anyway._

 _ **Masayoshi:**_ _Then that is considered royal milk tea. It's known as stewed tea back in England. It's considered a British style tea, but it was technically invented in Japan back in 1965. Of course the difference is that in Japan, they make it by boiling the milk with the tea leaves inside, then take them out after. In England, the drink is made by boiling the milk, adding the leaves, steeping it, and then removing the leaves. It's called tea with milk, and in Japan, it's technically considered royal milk tea._

 _ **ButtNugget:**_ _LOL!_

 _ **Masayoshi:**_ _What?_

 _ **ButtNugget:**_ _You really just know random trivia on milk tea?_

 _ **Masayoshi:**_ _Royal milk tea. And it's hardly random, we're discussing it, aren't we?_

 _ **ButtNugget:**_ _You are so bizarre._

 _ **Masayoshi:**_ _I hear that a lot, actually._

 _ **ButtNugget:**_ _I like it._

 _ **Masayoshi:**_ _That's... not something I hear a lot._

That had taken place so long ago, but it was what they decided to use as their pass phrase to one another, should in the future they had to work together again.

L gently took the kettle and some cups over to the table in the living room. Once they were set he went back to the kitchen for some honey. He wasn't sure if Jack wanted honey or not, but he knew he did. Just as he grabbed some of the little cups the hotel staff had left, Jack's bedroom door opened.

She stepped out, stretching her hands about her head. L noted she'd changed into pajamas. An oversized T-shirt clung to her small frame and the pajama bottoms were too long for her legs—the fuzzy paw-print patterned cloth was bunched up around her feet. She was still wearing those mismatched socks. The other thing she was still wearing were her headphones, though the hat was gone. Her hair was indeed short, and it stuck up in odd directions toward the back like she'd been licked by a dog.

"Oooh, I know that smell," she said, a grin breaking out across her face. "L, you shouldn't have!"

"Call it a peace offering," L said as he headed back toward the living room table. "I understand my rules can be strict and not entirely pleasant to follow."

"Well, it was very gentlemanly of you," Jack said as she followed him.

As she sat down, L noted the shirt she wore now had a violin on it. Beneath its design was the word "Yellowcard."

"Soccer reference? Or another word that is hip with the kids?" L asked, gesturing to it.

"Hm?" Jack was already pouring herself a cup of tea. "Oh, Yellowcard? Nah, they're a band. A good one too. They use an electric violin in most of their songs, really makes them pop." She grabbed one of the little cups of honey and peeled back the seal before pouring it into her cup. "So what were these notes you wanted to go over?"

L reached under the coffee table to the shelf that was beneath the top surface. He placed three cards with writing on them in front of Jack. "How well do you read Katakana?" he asked.

"Eh, it's a bit iffy, but let me see..." Jack leaned forward and looked over the notes. "This is bizarre... 'I know L suspects the police...' All of these seem pretty random. What are they?" She lifted her head to look at him. The light glinted off her green irises, making them shine blue for a moment.

"Notes from Kira's latest victims," L said. "They wrote these out before they died."

Jack put the cards down, staring at them. "Why would they do that?" she asked, voice low. Her brow was furrowed. L could tell she was trying to make everything click, to make sense of it.

"Do you notice anything odd about the notes themselves?" L asked her rather than answer.

Jack focused on the notes again. She frowned and pointed to the top corner of one of them. "This one starts with your name..."

L nodded.

"'L... do you know..." Jack ran her finger along the top line of the page then went to the next. "Love apples? No that doesn't make sense..." She went to the third. "Gods of death... 'L, do you know gods of death love apples?'"

The color fled her face.

"Jack?" L prompted.

Jack's eyes darted to the chair to her right. They had done that earlier. He almost looked to the chair too, but Jack pushed back from the table and shook her head.

"He sent this. He can... Somehow, he can manipulate people before they die," she said. "Who knows, maybe he can even..." Again, her eyes darted to the chair and L saw her throat bob as she swallowed.

"What?" L pressed.

Jack shook her head. "It's a silly thought. Impossible, even."

"This entire thing is proving to _be_ impossible," L said. "What are you thinking?"

"Well, his abilities are already out of the realm of what we see as natural," Jack said slowly, as if she were picking through her words like an omelet full of onions she were allergic to. "He can kill someone with a heart attack without being present—seemingly only with a certain amount of information about them. Now we see he can manipulate his victims before they die. Who is to say that he can't control _how_ they die?"

L blinked. The thought had crossed his mind too, but the way Jack said it—the way she held his gaze... he could tell that this was beyond mere speculation for her. She felt positive about this fact. And there was something else... something she wasn't telling him. He could press, but he had a feeling she would just withdraw. Best to get her to trust him completely first before prodding for more information. If there was one thing about Jack that he did know, it was that she wouldn't just let horrific behaviors such as Kira's just pass. She would do anything and everything she could to stop him.

"I admit, I wonder the same thing," L told her. He could see the relief in her eyes.

"It would just make sense," she said. "So what do you make of this message?"

"I was going to ask you that," L said. "You seemed to have had a stronger reaction to it than I did."

"'Gods of death...' Shinigami is what they're called in Japanese, right?" Jack murmured, looking down at the notes. "Is it a threat? Is he gloating? Either way, it's clear Kira has the mind of an adolescent. The type of jerk you'd play Halo against and would tea-bag when he killed you. I bet he's a camper too."

L looked her over. "What are you talking about?" he asked with a shake of his head.

"More hip lingo, L," Jack said, waving him off. "We need to narrow down your suspects..."

"Believe me, I'm working on it," L said.

"So, what else?" Jack prompted. "Surely you have some more notes about the case that you haven't shared with the police. Let's gossip about all the dirty details." She grinned crookedly at him.

L spent the next hour and a half catching Jack up with just about everything he knew about the Kira case. Most of it she knew from the police records she "peaked" at, but she was very interested in the FBI agents he had employed.

"You ensured to tell them not to give out their name, right?" Jack asked.

This intrigued L. He hadn't told anyone about his suspicions of Kira needing both a face _and_ a name to kill someone. Had Jack come to the same conclusions he had or was this part of what she wasn't telling him? He leaned forward, toes curling around the edge of his chair's seat cushion.

"Why do you say that?" he asked.

Jack rolled her eyes. "Please. Given the information you gave me, you've surely come to the same conclusion. Kira needs both—name _and_ face. Otherwise there are plenty of other criminals that would be dead. Unnamed suspects that have been shown on TV only died after they were caught and their names revealed. Let's get real here, L."

L let out a small breath. She was right. But still, with how she phrased with such absolution perked his interest.

"I did make sure to tell the agents they were not to identify themselves under any circumstances," L said.

Jack nodded, satisfied. "Good. It would probably be a good idea to have any officers working on the case to use aliases. Although, if Kira has eyes inside, it won't do much good."

"If needed, I can have false badges made for them," L replied.

With that, she got to her feet and stretched. She was a bit short, L noted. Perhaps 5'4 or 5'3. She cast him a wink and a smile.

"Well, I'm hitting the sack," she said. "We can keep this up in the morning right? Get a battle plan like the good ol' days."

She started heading for her room.

"Jack," L called after her.

She paused, glancing back at him, a brow raised.

"Tell me, as of now, knowing what we know..." L said slowly. "What do you think he's doing it? How do you think he has this ability to kill the way he does?"

"Kira?" Jack paused, biting her lower lip.

L nodded, waiting.

She glanced to the side. The motion might have been dismissed as her eyes merely wandering as she searched for an answer, but it was too deliberate. Like something caught her attention and held it. When L followed her gaze, he only saw a blank section of the wall.

Jack finally shook her head. "Honestly, it doesn't make sense. Who the hell has the power to just make people have heart attacks? It's already supernatural to begin with. If these deaths aren't logical, who's to say the cause is? Everyone out there is looking for some reasonable way Kira is able to do this. But you... you look at the common denominators. Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

"Sir Arthur Conan Doyle," L sighed. "Are you really quoting Sherlock Holmes to me?"

"Don't you think it's fitting?" Jack grinned at him.

And predictable. Jack always raved about Sherlock Holmes during their last case. L found the stories to be drab and overly popular. All of the things Holmes pointed out could be from a nearly infinite number of possibilities. He made people feel unintelligent for things people didn't notice, not so much what they didn't know. L solved crimes with actual evidence and in depth critical thinking. Of course, he also never actually read any of them, but he wasn't about to tell Jack that.

"So what is the improbable truth in this case?" L queried.

"That Kira isn't doing this by natural means," Jack said. There was conviction in her gaze as her face lost its smile and grew serious. "Something weird is going on here, L. I think it will take both of us to stop it."

L considered her words, focusing his eyes on his toes as they rubbed together in thought. "An interesting take," he said, voice low. "Sleep well, Jack."

"You too!" Jack sang.

He heard her door close and he was left staring at her empty cup of royal milk tea.

Something supernatural. The conviction she held in her eyes when she said that... From what he had learned of Jack during their last case, he took her for an incredibly logical person. Certainly, she joked and teased, and sometimes she didn't take things seriously. But when it came to the case itself- when it came to catching BB and putting an end to his killing... she was nothing but facts. Nothing but analytical and intelligent.

Now she was was stating that there was some other worldly cause to all this. That somehow Kira had access to a power that shouldn't be possible. That because it was impossible it was... what? A super power? Was she suggesting that Kira fell into a vat of toxic waste and somehow emerged with new abilities, that he was killing with his mind or...

L bit down on his thumb nail. Jack was hiding something, that much he was positive about. But he knew that she wouldn't hide something from him without good cause. Something was keeping her from speaking openly about it. He remembered her constant glances to the chair. The sudden glance to the wall. She always did it before answering a question he'd posed, or before divulging more of how she thought Kira was doing this or what Kira was capable of.

All this time, L thought that Kira was going to be the only thing he'd have to worry about figuring out. But now that Jack was back...

This complicated things.


	4. Bang

_Jack_

I woke, blinking eyes bleary with sleep. This bed was much more cozy than the one I had when I was at the apartment. The gentle music I slept to was still playing in my right ear. My left ear bud must have fallen out while I slept. I had to use these rather than the big headphones at night. It wasn't exactly comfortable to snooze with those on. I rolled over on my side and sighed contently, fully planning on going back to sleep, but then a voice spoke out.

"You left your meds on the bedside table."

I sat up and turned to see Nox leaning on the wall by the door munching on an apple.

"Where did you get that?" I asked with a sigh of irritation.

To anyone else, they'd see an apple floating in the air, disappearing bite by bite. Which meant if he went to get it, L or Watari could have seen an apple just float from the kitchen back to my room. Given Kira's latest note to L about gods of death loving apples, I didn't think that would bode well for me. And besides, wasn't Nox dead set against anyone finding out about him?

"I'm more careful than you give me credit for," he scoffed. He gestured to the bedside table. "Unlike you."

I looked over to see a bottle of pills sitting there, the lid off. I was so used to bunking on my own, I hadn't thought of putting them out of sight. I reached over and replaced the cap, then put the bottle under my pillow. Not exactly an original hiding spot, but I doubted that L would look through my room unless I gave him cause to. I didn't plan on doing that.

"Then again," Nox mused as I stretched and got out of bed. "I don't really see an issue of him seeing them."

"It's none of his business, for one," I said. "Stay out here while I change."

"Sheesh, you don't have to tell me every time," Nox grumbled.

"The one time I don't, you'll watch and say I didn't tell you not to," I retorted. "Don't act like I don't know you, Nox."

"You don't."

"I know enough."

I grabbed some clothes for the day and went into my bathroom, closing the door behind me. I changed into some gray sweats and a long-sleeve shirt. It too was gray but with horizontal white stripes along it. It bore a wide neck hole, exposing my collar bone. I managed to find some socks, one bright pink, the other black. They were similar in style, close enough to matching in my opinion. I wasn't a big fan of shoes, but unlike L, I didn't like leaving my feet bare. Socks were my favorite article of clothing.

Once I was changed, I brushed my teeth and combed out my short hair to look a little less bedraggled. It sort of worked, but my short bangs still stuck up and refused to lie flat. I could wet them, but that seemed like too much work. It wasn't like I was going out anywhere. L could deal with the bedhead. And the lack of makeup, not that I really partook in the latter in the first place.

Finally, I switched out my iPod and headphones. I had two iPod Nanos, one blue, one pink. The blue one was for night, and while I used that one, the pink one charged. In the morning I swapped them out, along with switching to my larger headphones. I considered for a moment of sticking with the ear buds for the day since I would probably be speaking with L for most of it. That thought alone made my stomach tighten up a bit. But I elected to stick with the larger pair. I was used to the weight on my head by now.

The switch was swift and efficient. I tried my best not to notice the silence as I swapped out. I even put on the bathroom fan before doing it. Once that was done, I plugged in the blue iPod and headed out of the bathroom.

"Nice hair," Nox noted.

"Nice sass," I shot back. "Put that apple core in the bathroom trash. And try not to eat anymore in here. If you need to have some, go out on the town. I don't need to have a collection of apple cores in my trash. L will probably think something is up with that."

Nox stuck his tongue out at me. It was blue.

"Try to behave," I said with a grin. "Show time."

With that I opened the door.

The scent of waffles greeted me. I inhaled the sweet smell with a wide smile. My stomach was already rumbling with approval.

"Looks good!" I noted as I approached the table in the living room.

L appeared to have already finished eating. I saw a plate with crumbs and syrup left on the table not far from him. Directly before him was an open laptop. He had one hand on the mouse pad, the other was near his mouth, thumb nail between his teeth.

"If you keep doing that, it'll make your fingers bleed," I told him as I sat down and started to pile some waffles onto a ready plate.

"All the FBI agents are dead."

L said it so suddenly and calmly, I didn't fully take in his words at first. I was pouring syrup on my waffles and bobbing my head to the beat of the song that was playing in my right ear. Then it hit me. My head snapped up and I stared at the detective, syrup still lethargically seeping down onto my waffles.

"What?"

L nodded, eyes still on the screen of his laptop.

"Heart attacks," he said. "All twelve of them."

"But..." I shook my head. "H-how? I... their names, you said..."

"I know what I said," L replied.

I blinked rapidly. Could it be that Kira got the Shinigami Eyes from his own Shinigami? But even then, Nox said that most of the face needs to be visible in order to see their name. The likelihood of Kira somehow managing to see all twelve FBI agents and know that they were with the FBI to begin with... No. No, Kira was not the type to trade half his lifespan for the Shinigami Eyes; he carried too much arrogance, too much pride in himself. He wanted to live as long as possible to see the world he could create.

"He must have gained access to the names somehow," I breathed.

L finally looked up at me. "You're making a mess with that syrup."

I looked down to see I was still pouring the maple goodness onto my waffles, and they were so drowned in the stuff that it was seeping over the sides of the plate onto the table.

"Ah, shit, sorry," I grumbled, setting down the syrup and grabbing some napkins.

As I cleaned, L turned his attention back to the laptop. "They died within close succession of one another—a statement in itself. One of them died in the subway, just off the Yamanote line."

"There could be footage of that," I noted.

L nodded. I heard him release a long exhale through his nose. I glanced at him as I picked up my plate. His eyes were troubled to say the least; I could see the tension in his shoulders. This was a loss, I realized, and L did not enjoy losing. He bit his thumbnail again.

Figuring he would speak to me when he was ready, I took my plate to the kitchen to toss the waffles. They were inedible to me being so saturated in syrup, and with the news of the FBI agents, my appetite was gone anyway. As I headed out of the kitchen, L abruptly got to his feet and began heading toward the room across the living room—his own room, I guessed. For the brief moment the door was open, I spotted a desktop computer inside on desk, then the door was closed.

I went back to the couch by the table and stretched out, waiting for L to come back. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but after a moment, I heard the muffle of his voice speaking. I couldn't make out any of his words, it was just a dull thrum. I glanced toward my own room and wondered if L could hear me talking to Nox. I made a note to myself to keep my voice down next time.

I hopped off of the couch and laid on the floor instead. Working out always helped me think, and it was important I kept in shape. Though I hadn't spoken to Austin in almost a year, I could still imagine him badgering me. I began to do some basic crunches. My core was quite used to them and my torso lifted with ease. I clasped my left headphone over my ear and let the music surround me, trying to figure out our next steps.

This situation was bad, but at the same time, it might be good. The police did not know the FBI agents were in Japan. Only L and Watari knew of their presence—and the US, I supposed, since they were the ones to send them. So that meant one of them was caught when they were tailing Kira. It narrowed our suspect list down, which was exactly what we needed.

Ideally, I wanted to see if there was footage of the FBI agent that died in the subway. It could hold a key, something we could use. If it didn't... well...

There was a tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see L was back and I freed one of my ears again, sitting up.

"What's up, Sherlock?" I asked him.

L's mouth twitched at the nickname. "Exercise?"

"You'd be surprised how often I need to run away from people."

L gave a small grunt, shaking his head. "Yes, well. We will have visitors this evening. Midnight to be specific."

I blinked as I got back onto the couch. "Visitors?"

"Some of the Japanese police force that I trust. Well, I trust them about as much as I can in this case," L said. "I have invited them to come meet face to face. Speaking over video chat will not do. You of all people know the vulnerabilities of technology when it comes to exchanging information. From now on, we will have a task force set up for defeating Kira."

"You're showing your face to more people?" I asked, brows raised. "And here I thought I was special."

L shrugged and went to perch on his chair again. "This case is... complicated to say the least. I need to take some risks."

"Well, I'll take them with you, L," I said.

L met my eyes. He seemed surprised, his mouth slightly agape. "Listen: your assistance is of course welcome. But you do not have to dive as deeply as I am. You don't need to—"

"L, if you're comfortable with showing your face to these people, I will too," I said. "This case is going to take everything we have, even more than BB."

L nodded, but the movement was slow and jerky. "I appreciate the sentiment."

I couldn't tell if he truly meant those words or if he was just speaking them out of formality. Either way, I smiled at him.

"Can I have the codename Butt Nugget?" I asked.

L let out a grunt; it was either out of disgust or amusement. "You are Nina Forner, remember?"

"That's an alias, sure, but _Butt Nugget_ is probably the best codename ever," I told him. "Let the name grow with renown, let it strike fear in Kira's heart!"

L looked over at me with a frown, but his eyes were glinting a bit. "Tonight, I will ensure none of the officers are Kira," he said, electing to completely ignore my comment. "I will still introduce myself as L, and you as Jack, but tell them to refer to us as our aliases. That way they get comfortable with it. Can't have any slip ups should, for any reason, either of us have to go out into public with them."

I shrugged. "I doubt Kira would know who I am, even if they use the name Jack."

"Best not to take any chances," L replied. "Do you require any means to stay up until midnight? I can make more royal milk tea."

"Do that. I don't need it, but still do it," I said with a laugh.

The rest of our day was one of comparing notes and ideas as well as lounging and TV. L and I both came to agreement that getting footage of the FBI agent that died in the subway would be their next step after speaking to the agents. There came to be a time when we finally had spoken about everything we could with the case, so I put on my headphones and doused myself in my music for a few hours.

Finally, midnight came, and I sat up, releasing one of my ears from my headphone. L had made some royal milk tea and was just setting it down on the table.

"Many thanks," I told him with a cheeky grin. "You'll have to show me how you make it. This is probably the best I've had."

"It's mainly about timing," L said, perching in his chair. "With the steeping, I mean."

He observed me for a moment. I started feeling self conscious.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you always have to listen to music?" he asked.

"Do you always have to sit like a nervous bird?" I countered.

There was a knock on the door before the detective could reply. L was on his feet and loping across the room within a heartbeat. He moved with a strange grace, despite his poor posture. I craned my head to peek out into the entrance room to watch. He opened the door and took a step back.

"Glad you could make it," he greeted who was there in Japanese. "Come in."

He turned and stepped back toward the living room of his suite. Behind him came six men, all in suits and looking bewildered. I recognized two of them, Soichiro Yagami and Touta Matsuda, the ones that took my card for L. The others I knew only from the files I managed to see while in their systems.

There was Shuichi Aizawa, a man with a stern face and a thick afro of dark hair. Hirokazu Ukita, the smallest of the group, with short black hair and petite features. The largest of the group was Kanzo Mogi. Oddly, his face seemed somewhat gentle, and he kept his hair short and neat.

When the door closed behind them, L rubbed the back of his neck.

"I am L," he said. He seemed more shy and awkward introducing himself to them as he had with me.

"Ah, Soichiro Yagami," Yagami said, taking out his badge and offering it. All the other officers did the same, introducing themselves one by one.

L slowly held up a hand, holding it like a gun. "Bang," he said.

"I don't understand," Matsuda said, his brow furrowing.

"If I were Kira, you'd all be dead," L explained. "Kira needs a face and a name to kill. Perhaps you shouldn't give out your identities so freely. Let's value out lives." He turned, walking back toward the living room.

I was pleased that L had pointed out their stupidity. Names were key in this game, and if they just gave out their identities so easily, Kira would kill them before they could do anything. To their credit, all of the officers looked incredibly sheepish. I heard Nox laughing.

"Please turn off all cell phones, pagers, and other communication devices and leave them on the table," L instructed, gesturing at a small table near the coat rack.

"What, you think we're going to leak information to Kira?" Aizawa demanded.

"It's okay," Yagami said. "Do as he says."

"I know he's meeting with us, but I can't tell if he actually trusts us," Matsuda muttered.

"It's not so much that," L explained. "I just find the noise distracting. I can't stand it when someone's cell phone rings while I'm trying to talk."

He then came back toward me at that point. I realized I was still stretched out across the couch when the detective gave me a pointed look.

"Oh, right," I said and shifted to where I was sitting upright, careful not to spill my royal milk tea. I got to my feet, not wanting to get crammed on the couch with any of the officers.

They all stopped dead when they came into the room and spotted me.

"It's you! Jack's messenger!" Matsuda recognized me first. "Wh-what are you doing here? Are you representing Jack?"

Nox let out another laugh. He was leaning on the wall near the kitchen. "He's a slow one," the Shinigami noted.

I kept my eyes on Matsuda. "Oh, hon. That's so sweet that you think that."

Matsuda's cheeks and ears reddened. "I- I mean... I thought you were to Jack like Watari is to L..."

I bowed deeply. "Well let me put it all to rest. Hello, I am Jack. A pleasure." When I straightened up again I winked.

Aizawa stepped forward, brow furrowed. "And how exactly do we know we can trust you?"

"Jack has worked with me before," L said. "She is not Kira, and will be a valuable asset on this case. Her hacking skills with computers and other knowledge of tech is unparalleled with anyone I've ever met."

Hearing him say that made me swell with pride.

"And how exactly do you know she isn't Kira, or working for him?" Ukita asked. His gaze was so sharp I was certain my throat was going to spontaneously slit.

"She is not Kira," L repeated. "I trust her... with my life, even."

I blinked at that. I suppose he did, considering what I knew. I felt a bit warm inside about his words nonetheless.

"Let me start by saying there will be no note taking," L said as he went to his seat. "We will be relying on memory alone. I don't want there to be any chance of what we discuss to get into the hands of Kira, you understand." He perched back in his chair, gripping his cup of royal milk tea. "Please make yourself comfortable."

The officers came further into the room at that point. I went to L's chair and sat myself on one of the armrests. He cast me a glance that told me he wasn't entirely comfortable with my closeness. To be honest, I wasn't too entirely cool with it either, but if it was sitting by him or being squashed on the couch with the officers that clearly did not appreciate my presence, I was going to pick him.

L drained his tea, so he poured himself another cup. He offered to refill my own cup and I allowed him to top it off, despite it only being half empty. The scent of it wafted upwards, steam coiling from the spout as he poured. He gently sat down the pot and sipped his cup. His nose scrunched up and he reached for the sugar cup, tossing in seven cubes. Seven. I raised my brows at him, but he ignored me.

The officers had seated themselves. Yagami was on the couch where I had been earlier, in the middle was Matsuda, then there was Mogi on the other end. In the chair where Nox had been sitting when I had my first conversation with L was Ukita. Aizawa was in the chair across the coffee table from the couch. He kept shooting me agitated glares. I met them with smiles.

"Excuse me, L?" Matsuda began, his voice delicate.

"Mm, I must ask that you do not refer to me as L from now on," L said. "It's Ryuzaki now, just to be safe."

"Okay, Ryuzaki..." Matsuda said slowly, as if tasting the name. "If Kira truly does need a face and a name to kill, why don't we limit what we broadcast on the news when criminals are caught? It would limit the killing."

Not a bad idea, to be honest. But I could tell by the lackluster reaction L gave that he'd already considered it. He was stirring the absurd amount of sugar into his tea.

"If we do that, we will only be putting the general public at risk," he said.

I furrowed my brow, trying to understand what made L think that. The officers were confused as well.

"The general public?" Ukita echoed.

"What makes you say that?" Aizawa asked.

It clicked for me. In my mind's eye, I saw the broadcast he put out to narrow down Kira's location to the Kanto region in Japan. Lind L. Tailor hadn't died until after he accused Kira to be evil.

"Kira is childish and hates to lose," L explained nonchalantly.

"But how do you...?" Matsuda began.

"What are you getting at, Ryuzaki?" Yagami demanded.

"He's saying Kira would throw a temper tantrum," I said, leaning back and grinning lightly. "You take away his toys, he'll find the crayons and start drawing on the walls to show you just what he'll do until you give them back."

The officers didn't seem to get my metaphor.

"What Jack means to say is that Kira would start killing innocents to punish us until we start displaying criminal information again," L said. "Which I believe is exactly what he would do. As to how I know that's how he is... it's simple, really. I am also childish and hate to lose."

I raised my brows at him again. That sure was something to admit just offhandedly. He sipped his cup, not meeting anyone's gaze.

"Ryuzaki, would you mind being a bit more specific for us?" Yagami asked.

"Well... I tried to provoke Kira when I narrowed his location down to the Kanto region," L explained. "Previously, we had thought Kira would only kill criminals, but he didn't hesitate to kill my stand-in."

"Well, he kind of did," I said before I could stop myself.

All eyes went to me and I shrugged.

"I mean, he didn't kill you... or rather, Lind L. Tailor... until after you called him evil," I pointed out. "Think about it. He only targeted criminals up to that point. It really seems like someone is trying to play god. If you ask me, it would be kind of weird if Kira turned out to be older. He really seems to have the mindset of a young adult, if not a teenager. He wants to be the hero, and when you accused him of being the villain, it made him mad and... well, draw on the wall with his crayons."

"You have interesting metaphors for death," Matsuda noted.

I shrugged. "It's a talent."

"Getting back to the point..." L's tone was slightly annoyed. "After that, Kira's next few victims were from within Japan, as if to say, 'what are you going to do about it?'" The detective took a long drink from his cup. "He has met each of my challenges head on and always makes sure to return the favor. Now tell me, how do you think putting media restrictions up will do against someone like that?"

Matsuda's shoulders sank. "I guess..." he trailed off, hanging his head.

"You hide the most dangerous criminals from me, and I'll kill petty criminals or the innocent," L said. "I'll hold the whole world hostage. I'm not evil, but those who try to hide criminals from me, those are the ones who are truly evil."

I could hear the tinge of anger in L's voice. He rubbed his bare feet over each other. He was right, he was similar to Kira. Someone daring to call him evil made him very uncomfortable. I drank my royal milk tea and tried to think. Per the notes I managed to snag from the police station, L had told the police that he believed Kira might be a student because of his killing schedule and childish nature. The killing times changed after that, so that's what led L to believe Kira had eyes inside the police.

I glanced over the officers in the room. No... I didn't think any of them could be Kira. But it was possible Kira was related to them. Nox's offer for the Shinigami Eyes suddenly seemed tantalizing. A part of me had worried Kira might make the deal for the Eyes with his own Shinigami... but judging by the way the kills were still happening, it appeared he hadn't done it. And as I had thought about before, I doubted Kira would take the deal. He was too proud. Too childish, as L said. He wouldn't take those Eyes unless he was desperate.

"However, I do believe we could still make use of the media," L went on. "How about something like this... Death of FBI agents infuriates US, the national police enraged agree to send 1500 investigators to Japan."

"That seems a little extreme," I noted.

L shrugged. "Extreme is what catches Kira's attention. This will be way beyond what he faced with the FBI. He'll see everyone as a potential threat. Psychologically, he'll start to feel cornered, and it will cause him to take some kind of drastic action."

I frowned at him. Surely, he realized that this extreme was laughably unrealistic. Someone as clever as Kira would see through it. But perhaps that was his ploy.

The officers in the room, however, all seemed to swell with hope, smiles blooming across their lips.

"That just might work!" Ukita said.

"He'll think there's over a hundred of us when it's just us eight," Aizawa said. "And he'll be trying to figure out how to kill people that don't even exist!"

"Well, before we celebrate, I'll tell you the rest of my thoughts on the Kira case," L said. "Kira works alone. He had access to all our files on the Kira case."

"Doesn't Jack work alone?" Aizawa asked, shooting me a glare.

I rolled my eyes. "If I was Kira, you'd all already be dead," I told him.

"I'm just saying, your sudden appearance is odd," Aizawa snapped.

"I worked a case with L before. I saw he had this one and figured he'd need my help," I defended. "Is that so bad? Or would you prefer I just sit back and do nothing?"

"If we can get back to the task at hand," L said. There was the strain of impatience in his tone. "We know Kira needs a face and a name to kill. And to some extent he can control the victims time of death and their actions before they die."

The detective pulled out a black marker from his pocket and popped off the cap. He eyed each of the officers one at a time.

"Now, keep that in mind, and listening closely to what I have to say next," he said. He began to write on the table with his marker. I raised a brow at this blatant disrespect for hotel property and leaned forward to observe. "On December 14th, twelve FBI agents enter Japan. Here we are on December 19th. Kira conducts experiments, manipulating his victims actions before they die. Obviously in the span of these five days, Kira became aware of the FBI's presence and felt threatened." L drew a line between the two sentences of Katakana, running the marker back and forth to make it darken with each stroke. "Because he didn't know any of their names or faces, he was at a disadvantage."

I felt my lips dip into a thoughtful frown. "You think he wanted to test his limits of what he could do before tackling the agents," I stated rather than asked.

L glanced at me. I couldn't tell if he was impressed or not. His dark eyes were a void. "Precisely," he said, turning back to the table. "And as we all know, on December 27th..."

"He iced all your FBI agents," I finished.

L nodded. He added that to the table, drawing more lines. "We know that there were at least 23 deaths during this period, all of which were heart attacks," he went on, drawing the number between 12/19 and 12/27. "But these victims were different from Kira's previous targets. They were all criminals from ongoing investigations, so legally speaking, they were innocent."

"That's true," Yagami admitted.

"What this indicates is that Kira had to manipulate these lesser criminals to expose the FBI agents," L explained. "He killed so many people so that we couldn't tell the decoys from those he actually used. In truth, he probably only needed a few. He waited eight days so that the FBI could investigate other suspects, which meant there would be no timeline linking him to their deaths."

I slipped off the armrest of the chair and took a closer look at L's scribbles on the table. He raised his head, perking a brow at me. I pointed down at the line he'd drawn between 12/14, when the FBI agents first arrived, and 12/19, when Kira conducted his experimental murders.

"It had to happen in this time period," I said.

"What had to have happened?" Mogi asked.

I turned toward the officers. "Kira was being investigated somewhere between the 14th and the 19th. What else would have spooked him to start experimenting?"

I had asked Nox questions about the Death Note. He already made it clear he wasn't going to outright give me information, but every time I grilled him for it, he gave it freely. If a name is written in the notebook and it is the correct name and matches the face of who one thinks about, the person will die in 40 seconds from a heart attack. It was why Lind L. Tailor died about 44 seconds after he accused Kira of being evil, just enough time for Kira to write down the name and the 40 seconds to tick down to his death.

But if someone wrote the cause of death within 40 seconds of placing down the name, they had six minutes and 40 seconds to write out the their actions before their death. This meant the cause of death did not have to be a heart attack. Kira was clever. He stuck mainly to heart attacks because he was only using the other types of deaths for his own purposes- to keep himself hidden and to oppose those who wished to stop him. But I had a feeling that 12/19 is when he wanted to see just to what extent he could manipulate someone before their death. It was like L said, he wanted to test his abilities before taking on the FBI.

For him to conduct so many experiments in one day implied something really freaked him out. He wanted to learn, and he wanted to learn fast.

"I agree," L said. "In fact, I have no doubt about that." He reached down and drew up some papers from under the coffee table. "These are some files from the FBI. You may find their information useful. For obvious reasons, they are not allowed outside this room, but..." He handed them out, and the officers began to split them up.

"This is amazing!" Matsuda said, beaming at the papers. "There may only be five of us, but we can cover a lot of ground with these!"

"We'll split into two teams," Aizawa said. "One investigates the FBI deaths, the other the heart attack victims."

"There weren't that many people that had access to our information back at headquarters," Matsuda noted, looking through his papers. "And out of those, there was only a small handful being investigated within the first five days."

"Does anyone have any questions?" L asked, leaning back from the table and gripping his knees. Honestly, he looked bored to me.

"Actually Ryuzaki, I do have a question," Yagami said. "It pertains to what you said earlier, about how you hate to lose. Is you revealing yourself to us, you being here now, mean that you've lost? Are you admitting defeat to Kira?"

I turned my gaze to the detective, finding myself interested in his response.

L was still, his posture like stone. His dark gaze was locked onto Yagami, and when he finally spoke, his voice was soft. "That's right," he said. "By revealing myself to you all now, by sacrificing 12 FBI agents, even by involving Nina..." He glanced at me which I returned with a smile. "I have lost the battle." His eyes narrowed and his voice grew serious, full of promise. "But I'm not going to lose the war."

Nox let out a low laugh. "He's awfully confident, despite the odds."

I glanced toward the Shinigami to see him smiling wickedly from the edge of the room. It was truly disturbing how such a human-looking face could have a grin that literally reached the ears.

"This is the first time I've ever put my life on the line," L admitted. "Jack's too." He shot me a glance. "But I want to show Kira that we're willing to risk our lives if that's what it's going to take. We will stop him." He smiled then, the first time I'd ever seen it. It was oddly adorable. "And justice will prevail."

The officers seem to blossom with hope at his words.

"That's right!" Mogi said.

"We can do this," Matsuda vowed.

"Just one last thing before we move on," L said. "I need to ensure none of you are Kira, so I would like to speak with each of you before you leave privately."

"Sheesh, what's the deal, he still doesn't trust us?" Aizawa grumbled.

"No, it's fine," Yagami said. "We can certainly speak with you, Ryuzaki."

L nodded curtly and got to his feet. I rose with him and walked with him toward the large windows on the far side of the room.

"You think you'll be able to determine none of them are Kira just with a few words?" I asked him, keeping my voice low.

He looked at me from the corner of his dark eyes. "Of course. I know Kira has eyes inside the police, but I do not think any of these men are him or are willingly providing him information. But I only need a few moments with each of them to make certain."

I shrugged. "This is your area of expertise, I suppose. Let me know if you want me to hack into any of their home computers."

L brought his nail up to his teeth again, but I reached out and gave his hand a small smack. He slowly turned to look at me as if I had affronted his deepest most sacred beliefs.

"What was that for?" he asked.

I was surprised that I caught him off guard to be honest.

"You shouldn't bite your nails," I told him. "You'll make them bleed if you go too deep."

"I hardly need you to parent me, Nina," L said.

I leaned close to him. "When you call me by my real name, maybe I'll consider cutting you some slack."

L let out a breath through his nose, only staring at me for a moment longer before turning his head and looking behind us toward the officers. "Chief Yagami, if you would join me."

Taking that as my dismissal, I headed for the kitchen, eager to get some more royal milk tea, not that I needed the caffeine to keep me up. Nox was still leaning by the doorway and he smiled at me as I passed him.

"Interesting group. Seems you made some new fans. How tactful," he said.

"Everybody loves me," I sang to him in English, which happened to be the lyrics that were playing in my ears as I replaced the left headphone back in place.


	5. Aw, I'm Flattered

_L_

"Sorry for questioning all of you like that, but I'm afraid I had no other choice. I've determined Kira is not among us."

L watched as the officers all gave a collective sigh of relief. Sunlight was beginning to stretch in from the far windows. His interrogations of each of the officers had taken the rest of the night. While he spoke with each of them, he found himself casting glances across the room to see Jack pacing around. She had her headphones on and either didn't notice or ignored when one of the others in the room tried to get her attention.

Jack was not Kira nor was she working for him, that much L was certain about. He never thought she was in the first place, but she knew more than she was letting on. L would pry that information from her in time.

Now, Jack was rummaging in the fridge in the kitchen. He saw her pull out an apple and look it over before giving a small smirk. She glanced to her side at nothing in particular, tossing the apple up and down. Was she remembering the note Kira left?

 _L, did you know gods of death love apples?_

L shook himself focusing back on the men before him. He'd deal with Jack later.

"Ryuzaki, how can you be so sure we're innocent?" Yagami asked.

"Well, to be honest, I set a number of traps for if any of you were Kira," L replied, leaning his cheek against a palm. "But after speaking with each of you, I don't feel the need."

There was a ringing and buzzing from his pocket. L blinked and reached down, pulling the blue cell phone out.

"Excuse me," he said, flipping it open and holding it to his ear.

"Ryuzaki, I've returned," Watari's voice said, not even waiting for a hello.

Jack was heading back into the sitting room. She still had the apple, though she hadn't taken a bite. Her smile was smug as she tossed it from hand to hand. L forced himself to focus on responding to Watari.

"Understood," he said. "I was just about finished here anyway. You have the key, so let yourself in." He lowered the phone and hung up, looking back at the officers. "Watari is on his way."

They all seemed surprised and somewhat eager. After all, Watari was another face they'd never actually seen before.

"So, not gonna lie," Jack said, slipping one ear free of a headphone. "I'm getting a bit tired. Can I call it here, Sherlock?"

"You do realize calling me Sherlock is almost as bad as calling me L?" L responded dryly.

Jack merely grinned, catching the apple in her palm and finally taking a bite. "'orry Ryu," she said through her mouthful.

"How attractive of you," L sighed. "I would prefer if you could wait for a few moments. Watari is back."

"Oh, did he bring my strawberry Kitkats?" Jack's face lit up.

Before L could respond, there was a click and L turned to see Watari's familiar figure step inside. His weathered face was calm as he came to a halt at L's side and took off his dark hat, pressing it to his chest.

"Gentlemen, it's a pleasure to meet all of you," he said. He noticed Jack for the first time. "Miss Forner, I brought your sweets." He reached into a pocket and produced a small wrapped bag.

"Awesome!" Jack said, stepping forward and taking it. "Thank you very much, Watari!" She used the polite wording in Japanese when thanking him.

"Why aren't you in your other outfit?" Matsuda asked.

"Wearing that all the time would announce to the world that I am Watari," the old man replied. "It would give away our position and Ryuzaki. Ordinarily, I would never show my face to any of you. The fact that I am here is proof that you have won Ryuzaki's trust."

"Well, now that you mention it, I do feel honored." Matsuda rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously.

"I brought the items you requested," Watari said to L, leaning forward and holding out a small silver case.

"Could you please pass them out to everyone?" L asked.

Watari popped open the case, showing the contents to the officers. "Gentlemen, your new police IDs," he announced.

The men all perked brows at the badges within the case. Watari went around, giving the new badges to each of them. Yagami looked his over and spoke up first.

"Our names and ranks are false..." he noted.

"Why did you give us fake IDs?" Matsuda asked.

Jack let out a small grunt. "It's obvious, right? Kira needs a name and a face to kill."

L nodded, sipping his coffee. "It's in our best interest to protect your identities. When placed in a situation where you have to give out your name to a stranger, ensure to use these names. And refrain from using them in front of other officers, I'm sure you can understand how that could cause problems."

"But the police of all people shouldn't be using fake IDs," Ukita muttered.

"What choice do we have?" Yagami asked. "Think about our enemy's capabilities. It would be foolish not to use them, we need all the protection we can get."

"Now then..." Watari said, picking up a briefcase and placing it on the table behind L's chair. He popped it open to reveal it was full of ordinary looking belts. "I would like to request you wear these at all times."

"Uh... belts?" Matsuda raised a brow.

The officers all got to their feet and went look as Watari held one up.

"Each one has a transmitter within it showing Ryuzaki your whereabouts," he explained. "And if you press the button in the buckle twice like this..." He tapped the button twice and then a ringing sounded. He took out his cell phone from his pocket and flipped it open. "My phone will ring and display your name and I will call you back immediately. But you will not see my number displayed."

Watari began to hand them out.

"In the morning, you will each go to the police station as usual. Later on, we will use this method to confirm which hotel Ryuzaki is in to set up our next meeting," Watari said. "Please use them for emergencies as well."

"No way!" Matsuda exclaimed, voice giddy. "I feel like some kind of secret agent going after Kira! This is so cool!"

"Quiet, Matsuda!" Yagami barked. "Now is not the time to be fooling around. Knock it off!"

Matsuda hung his head. "Yes, sir," he mumbled.

"Ah, give him a break," Jack said. She was leaning against the wall, her foot tapping to a beat none of them could hear. "These are dark times. It's best to grasp onto some kind of positivity, else the void pulls you under." She grinned.

"No offense, Nina," Yagami said, though L wasn't sure if he fully meant those words, "but you are not in law enforcement. There is a certain level of professionalism we need to keep."

"Perhaps you should think about trying to be serious sometime," Aizawa suggested, his voice bitter.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull girl." Jack winked at him as the officers went and sat back down around the coffee table.

"Here, Miss Forner." Watari went to her and held out what appeared to be a watch with a red band. "You don't wear belts as much as the officers, I'm sure. We had this made for you instead. The watch face depresses as the button, it works the same as the others. And it also tells time."

"As most watches do," Jack murmured as she took it. "Why do I need one?"

"In case you leave, I'd like to know where you are," L explained. "It's for your own safety."

"My safety. Uh-huh." Jack didn't look convinced, but she sighed and nodded. "If it'll make you feel better, I'll keep it on."

It seemed she was aware that L wasn't going to just let her walk away, but she was accepting of it. Perhaps not comfortable with it, but she saw it as a necessary inconvenience right now. She was ready to make sacrifices for this case, just as L was. The officers were too. They were all putting a lot of trust into him.

"Mm, come to think of it," L said as he turned to the officers. "Who's at the police station right now?"

"Actually no one," Yagami said, his brow furrowing.

"That's not good news," L murmured. "We need at least one of you there at all times, work in shifts if you have to."

"Understood," Yagami said with a curt nod. "Aizawa, I'll leave that to you for today."

Aizawa stood. "Yes, sir," he said. "I'm on my way, it won't take me long."

He cast Jack one last glare before turning and heading out of the room. She didn't seem fazed by it. She went and perched on the arm rest of L's chair again, even though Aizawa's seat was now empty.

"It would be best if we gather some TVs," L said. "I saw that one of the agents died on the subway platform. It would be ideal if we had some footage of it to observe for any oddities."

"We can gather that," Yagami assured. "Would you like us to get anything else for our next meeting?"

"Sake Kitkats," Jack said.

Yagami looked at her, blinking. "Sake...?"

"Kitkats." Jack nodded. "Japan has all these crazy flavors and that's the kind I want to try next."

"You can't be serious," Ukita grunted. "We're not errand boys. We have serious business to conduct with this investigation!"

"You could just say no, jeez." Jack fiddled with her new watch. "No need to get rude."

L let a long exhale slip from him. Jack wasn't going to make this easy, he could tell, but her skills were valuable. If he could pinpoint a suspect and get her to look at their computer... it could provide them evidence to prove they are Kira. He just needed one piece... one little mistake Kira made to catch him.

The officers left, bidding L and Jack farewell. Once they were gone, and it was just L, Watari, and Jack, the girl plopped down on the couch.

"So, anything else before I crash?" she asked in her native language of English.

"I don't believe so," L said. "With luck, we will have footage from the FBI agent's death tomorrow that we can review. Perhaps you can be a bit less abrasive to the officers then?"

"Only if they decide to stop being asses. More specifically that Aizawa guy," Jack retorted.

"They are scared," L said. "It is only natural of them to be apprehensive of someone new."

"You told them we worked together before and they still don't trust me." Jack gathered up her empty tea cup and her apple core, heading for the kitchen. "Respect needs to be earned—I get that—but shit, he doesn't need to be such an ass hat."

"This is a delicate case, Jack," L told her. "We need to work together to achieve victory. One wrong move and we could both end up dead."

"Believe me, no one gets that more than I do," Jack muttered.

L got to his feet, his motion smooth and fluid. He headed toward the kitchen, eyeing her. "And why exactly is that?"

She hesitated, eyes darting to the far wall and it didn't appear like she was staring at the floral wallpaper. They were fixated on something—something taller than her and close. It was like when a cat would suddenly stare off into the distance, giving the impression they just spotted a mouse when there was none there. Only judging by the look on Jack's face, she was the one who felt like the mouse.

"I saw someone die of a heart attack that I was close to," Jack said abruptly. She focused her gaze back on L. "Listen... You know me. At least enough of me to know that I'm invested in this. I want Kira caught, I want him brought to justice. I'm going to do everything I can to help you. I know if anyone can catch this asshole, it's you, L."

He wondered who she saw die—who it was Kira killed that made her so determined. Was she attached to a criminal? L figured asking about it would get him nowhere; Jack was someone that he was going to have to take his time with. If he got her to trust him, then she would divulge exactly what it was she was hiding. Until then, he'd keep her where he could see her, and ask his questions carefully.

"If you're so confident in my abilities, why offer yourself as a gift?" L asked.

"Like I said, this was way too tasty of a challenge for me to pass up. And besides, while you'll be the one to catch the bastard, every hero needs a sidekick." Jack beamed, though the smile seemed too tight to be natural. "A Watson to your Sherlock."

"You have to stop calling me that."

"I suppose I can refrain while we're in public."

L bit his tongue for a moment. He elected to just shake his head and wave her off. "We'll be moving hotels when you wake," he said. "Try not to sleep in too much."

"No promises," Jack sang as she went around him and headed for her bedroom. "You're the one who kept me up past my bedtime."

"I seem to recall getting IMs from you all hours of the night," L called after her.

"Yes, well, I was on a different schedule then," Jack said over her shoulder before closing her bedroom door.

L went to his own room and packed up some of his things to be ready in the morning. It was always tricky getting all the precious files and computers moved from hotel to hotel. L was irritated that he'd been reduced to this—that he'd gotten so involved with a case that it forced him to put his own life on the line.

But he'd meant what he said to the officers and Jack.

He would win the war.

* * *

 _Jack_

It was the sound of someone knocking on my door that woke me. I sat up slowly, my eyes still foggy from sleep.

"Jack," L's muffled voice called from the door. "Are you awake yet? I'm going to come in, so I hope you're decent."

"I'm up!" I answered. It took almost all of my energy to call out that loudly. My voice sounded almost like Nox's, it was so raspy.

The door opened anyway.

L stood there, one hand in his pocket, the other on the door knob. He was in a long-sleeve white shirt and jeans again. Did he own any other type of clothing?

"I've been knocking for nearly a full minute," L said.

I glared at him. "Weren't you taught that it is ill manners to enter a lady's room unbidden?"

"Like I said, I knocked." He strode inside, glancing around. "Do you need help packing? I want to leave in fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes?" I groaned, flopping myself back into the bed and pulling the sheets up over my head.

I heard L's footsteps approach then a tug at the sheets.

"Jack."

I held tightly to the covers. "What time is it anyway? Why do we have to leave so early?"

"I let you sleep as long as I could," L said. "Check out is at 11:00 AM, which is in thirty minutes."

10:30. I had gotten... what, three hours of sleep?

"Alright, fine," I murmured, letting L pull aside the covers.

He stood over me, still slouched, but at this angle he appeared decently tall.

"Why are you so lethargic?" he asked.

"Because I got next to no sleep, thanks to our little get together," I grumbled. "You're going to have to get out and let me change."

L nodded and turned, padding out of the room. "Do hurry," he called over his shoulder before shutting the door.

Nox was chuckling. "He doesn't really understand boundaries."

"Much like someone else I know," I whispered toward the Shinigami before slipping out of bed and preparing for the day.

Since I didn't have much time to get ready, I elected to run a comb through my hair once and slap a beanie on my head. I swiftly changed into a long-sleeve purple shirt that boldly declared: "I'd rather be NAPPING" with a snoozing kitten drawn below the lettering, and some jeans. After swapping my iPods, I packed up the rest of my things and headed out my room.

L was about ready to leave. His ridiculous amount of files and his computers had been taken away. I already found myself wondering if I would manage to get a look into his hard drives, if only for curiosity's sake.

"Jack." L approached me as I put my bigger suitcase upright on its wheels.

"S'up?" I tilted my head to the side.

The detective was looking me over. "Listen. I think it would be best that we come up with a cover story for why we are together when out in public, for when we move between hotels," he said.

"Isn't Watari literally the only person we deal with?" I asked.

"If I had Watari do everything for me, it would raise suspicion," L explained. "I still do, on occasion, have to speak with hotel receptionists and room service. So, since you are so obviously a foreigner, I suggest that you do not let on how fluent you are in Japanese while in public. It may work to our advantage in the future."

"Okay, so be the bumbling tourist," I said. "Should I act like a rude American and complain about how there isn't enough things in English? Take up too much space on the trains?"

"I don't think that's necessary. Unless you _are_ a rude American."

I waggled a finger at him. "Now now, we've been over this, if you want my origin chapter, you have to work for it."

L turned away from me and went on with the previous conversation as if nothing had happened. "I believe that the best thing for us to do to explain why we are so constantly in each other's company is to pretend that we are dating."

"Aw, I'm flattered," I said with a laugh. "But what's the real cover story, Sherlock?"

"That _is_ the real cover story. Well, honeymooning would be ideal, but I think that might be a touch strong," L said. "Besides, proposing to you could make for a good distraction if needed..."

"You're serious." I leaned forward, examining his face. "Dating?"

"Does it offend you?" L asked, meeting my gaze with lidded eyes.

"No," I said honestly. "I just..."

I could act—that was easy—but I typically acted alone. Acting with someone- especially in this manner... well... that was different. That was complicated.

Nox was chuckling behind me. "This just keeps getting better and better," he said.

The bastard just loved to see me squirm, that much I knew.

"You seem fine with lying about who you are," L pointed out.

"As do you," I countered.

"Which is why I'm suggesting this," L said.

I bit my lip and looked the detective over. It wasn't that L wasn't attractive. Yes, he was pale and had poor posture- plus he was in serious need of a cat nap based on the circles under his eyes. But he had this soft face and pretty great hair if I was being honest. And there was something to be admired with his intelligence and determination. To be honest, after our last case, I couldn't deny we had a connection. He was truthfully trusting me with his life.

But I hadn't dated anyone in five years. Even if this was a show, I wasn't sure I knew how to act it out convincingly. It required touching. And cuddling. Ugh, cuddling.

"Why can't we just be step siblings or something?" I suggested with a weak shrug.

"That stay in the same hotel room? Seems odd, don't you think?" L tilted his head toward me.

"Work partners?"

"That's what we already are."

I exhaled through my nose. I supposed it wasn't like we were actually dating. It was part of the act to throw off Kira, to throw off anyone. And L had a point, it was the only thing that made the most sense.

"Yeah, alright fine," I sighed. "Where did we meet?"

"A year ago when you came down for your brother's wedding," L said. "I was a one of the groomsmen. Your brother and I became close friends when he first moved here, which was two years prior to his wedding. You and I hit it off well, and began meeting as friends, but then it turned into something more, much to your brother's dismay. He still isn't completely comfortable with it."

"We dated here in Japan?" I asked, perking a brow. "How am I still so new to the language if it's been almost a year?"

L shook his head. "When you and your mother went back home to Canada, I ended up going down there for school. A lie, of course, to see you again. Just something to keep your brother from biting my head off. That's where we started dating. This is only your second time in Japan. I'm showing you around."

"How romantic." I rolled my eyes. "And what are you going to school for?"

"Statistics."

"Seriously?"

"It's vague and the majority of people find it too dull to prod about."

"And if they do prod?"

"More specifically? Data mining."

I snorted. "I suppose you are looking for an anomaly in all the people in the Kanto region. It's a little like data mining."

"Another thing," L said. "Do not let on how skilled you are with technology. It would be better for us if Kira wasn't aware."

"Naturally," I said. "Okay... so names then. I think my brother will be Yohan, and my mother can be Rose."

"Yohan?" L echoed.

I nodded innocently.

L studied my face. "The names are from an anime, aren't they?"

"What?" I scoffed in feigned insult. "No! Okay, Nina and Yohan are. Monster is a classic, totally underrated."

"Jack, you need to think of something more original than that," L sighed.

"Fine. My brother can be Harry." I shrugged.

"Harry?" L raised his brows at me.

"Potter." I gave him my best shit-eating grin.

L pinched the bridge of his nose. "Your brother's name is Alex Forner, your mother is Rose Forner. No more getting aliases from fictional stories."

I rolled my eyes. "You're so mean to me. You should show more respect to your sweetheart, Ryu." I winked and extended my hand to him. "Shall we?"

Oddly, he seemed to hesitate. But then he gripped it, twining his fingers with mine. His skin was soft and warm. We headed to the door.

"Should we use pet names?" L suggested.

"Let's not push it," I said.

Walking with L's hand in mine was a bit odd. For one, we were both rather awkward. There were several moments when there would be people walking down the hall, forcing us to either release hands and clasp them again once they passed, or for us to attempt to go single file for a moment. There were times when L wanted to go one way and me another.

We didn't look like a romantic couple; we looked like a train wreck.

"Perhaps we should practice," L muttered once we were alone on the elevator.

"No shit, Sherlock," I said before I could stop myself.

If looks could kill. L's glare was fast and seeped with disapproval. It alone sent me into a git of giggles. I was barely containing myself when the elevator opened to the lobby and L had to drag me out by our linked hands.

Watari was waiting for us. The vehicle was the same sleek and black one the old man had come to collect me in a few days ago. L released my hand to open the door to the back seat to allow me in first. I grinned at him.

"Oh, why thank you, kind sir," I said, batting my eyes at him.

"Don't oversell it," he muttered as I got in.

Once we were all in the car, Watari began driving us through the haphazard traffic of Tokyo. I tried not to lose my cool. I was always a nervous passenger in cars, and I'd been spoiled with the train stations as my main mode of transportation.

The next hotel we arrived at was significantly larger than the last, towering overhead at least twenty stories. I bit my lip as I stared up at the building. Watari called some bell boys to help take our things up to the room we were going to be staying in. L wanted to walk up with them, making sure they didn't peek into any of our luggage.

Nox loomed over my shoulder, leaning down to murmur in my ear.

"You do realize you need to keep an eye on your Death Note, right?" he asked me. "I won't let you just carelessly leave it out for him to touch."

Currently, my Death Note was in my satchel at my hip. I kept it in there at all times, and the satchel was always with me. But I knew if I ever lost it, all my memories pertaining to the Death Note itself would vanish. I had to be careful. I shot Nox a look that I hope told him I wasn't a moron.

The Shinigami merely chuckled. "Admittedly, I like you, Jack," he said. "I hate that I like you. So please don't do something stupid and make me kill you."

He liked me, huh? He'd said that before. Well, that was nice. If he liked me so much, couldn't he use his own Shinigami Eyes to help me find Kira? But I would drill him about that later.

At an incredibly sluggish pace, we made our way up to the room with the luggage cart and bell boys' help. We were up on the nineteenth floor, second from the top. Delightful. L didn't let the bell boys into the room once we got there. Watari tipped them for their service, I thanked them in Japanese, purposefully mispronouncing the words slightly. They still smiled at me, appreciating my effort.

That was the thing about Japan. I hadn't come across a single rude person since I'd arrived, save the tourists. All the locals were pleasant as can be, and were thrilled when I spoke to them in fluent Japanese. It was a wonderful culture. Too bad Kira was screwing things up.

Once in the room, I hung up my jacket and took to my own bedroom, assuring L I'd only be a moment. He merely waved me off, not even bothering to look at me as he set to arranging the files he was unpacking.

I closed the door behind me and was pleased at the expansive space before me. My room was even bigger in this suite than the one before, and I still had my own bathroom. I put my suitcase on the bed to unpack it in a moment and took to the bathroom, not trusting L to just not waltz in. Once again, I had a sink-in tub with jets, but this time I also had a walk-in shower.

Awesome.

I went and sat on the toilet, not bothering to put up the seat or lower my pants as I didn't actually have to go. I glanced at Nox as he morphed through the bathroom door I had closed and locked.

"I want to clarify some of the rules," I said.

Nox perked a snowy-white brow at me. "Rules?"

"Of the Death Note," I said. "If I do lose it, how exactly does the memory thing work? Will I just had huge blank spots? Because the main reason I took to this case was because I knew what was causing it. So would I just forget why I'm here?"

"It's more complicated than that," Nox said. "Take Victor. He's sitting in a cell somewhere knowing that he's in there for fraud, and understands that, but he doesn't get the murder part. He only remembers those he killed before he got the notebook. The others he has no recollection of killing them or attempting to kill anyone else." He winked at me. "You would remember that you contacted L, that you came here because you were certain you could help solve this case. You just wouldn't remember exactly where that confidence came from. You wouldn't remember me. You wouldn't remember our conversations."

"I wouldn't remember the existence or the rules of the Death Note," I murmured. "Rendering me basically useless in this case."

"Useless? I doubt that," Nox said. "You have your computer skills, and L knows that."

"Sure, but I wouldn't know what to look for," I said. "At least not as much as I do now. What do you suggest? About the Death Note? Has anyone ever hid it in clever ways you'd like to disclose?"

Nox laughed. "The only thing I have to do is give you a straight answer about the rules of the Death Note if you ask," the Shinigami said. "I have no obligation to help you with this, Jack."

Ass hat and a half, he was. My teeth grit. "All I can hope is that the Shinigami with Kira is just as useless as you are."

"Ouch," Nox scoffed. "Now, now, I've been plenty helpful. I didn't have to show up the moment I gave you the Death Note. If I hadn't, you might have used it."

"I don't kill people, Nox."

"Well, you might have to if you want to win this war," Nox informed me with his ear-to-ear smile.

I got up and flushed the toilet, figuring I already spent too much time in here as it was. I would drill Nox for more information tonight. I went and washed my hands, despite not having actually used the facilities, but I wanted to make sure the sound effects were there in case L was listening.

Afterward, I took to my room and unpacked some things. I plugged my night iPod back in, and tucked my meds under my bed pillow only after glancing at the bottles for a heartbeat. I then went to my satchel and took out my Death Note. It bore a red cover and scrawled white lettering declared exactly what it was on the front. Ordinarily, I could pass it off as some edgy journal I wrote in, despite all its pages being blank. But anyone who touched it would be able to see and hear Nox, and that was a slight issue.

I wondered where a safe place could possibly be for it; somewhere where no one would bother to rummage around in.

An idea came to me and I went to my suitcase. I opened it up and found a box of menstrual cycle pads inside. It was one of the large boxes that was meant to last for two months' worth of periods. The notebook was thin, and it slid in behind the pads that were packed inside. No one, not even L, would think to go rifling through this box. I had the advantage of being a woman in this case. So many guys found periods to be too gross to talk or even think about. I had to hope L was the same way.

I then placed the box under the sink in the bathroom. Luckily, it wasn't my time of the month, so I wouldn't be going through those pads anytime soon. It was a temporary hiding spot, of course. I was sure I'd think of something better later.

Nox seemed impressed with me. "It'll do for now," he said with an approving nod.

Once that was done, I left my room to see L had already finished unpacked his files and was now sitting at the coffee table in the living room, looking at his laptop.

"Does this place have a gym?" I asked.

"Yes," L replied. "But you can't use it. We need to stay in the room as much as possible to avoid being seen."

I sighed as I approached him. "Come on, no one would know who I am, everyone thinks Jack's a boy anyway, and it's not public knowledge that I'm on the task force to begin with."

"All the same, it's safer if you refrain." L seemed unconcerned by my argument and kept looking over things on his laptop.

"Guess I'll just run in laps around the room then," I sighed.

"It seems the officers found footage of the FBI agent that died in the subway," L said suddenly.

"Neato," I said. "Can we watch it over breakfast?"

L's face appeared over the laptop screen, eyes locking onto mine with his brows raising.

"Okay, fine, lunch, sorry," I said with a shrug. "You're the one who threw off my schedule."

"Are you always such a heavy sleeper?" L asked.

"For the record, I've never worked with someone in person," I informed him. "So honestly, I wouldn't know."

That was a lie, but L didn't need to know about that. It didn't pertain to the case.

L held my gaze for a moment longer before returning his attention back to the laptop screen. "The officers will be bringing the footage with them. It's all on tape."

"Tape?" I went around the table and plopped down on the couch next to him. To his credit, despite his odd, perching posture, he kept his balance. "Like VHS? Old school, huh?"

"They have not yet moved on to disc, so yes, tapes." L closed his laptop and glanced over at me. "You're hungry?"

I looked from the closed laptop back to the detective. "Suspicious of me?" I queried.

"I know better than to let you poke around my technology."

"We're on the same side, in case you forgot."

"You're curious nature is a little too overbearing for me."

"I already know more than enough."

L narrowed his eyes slightly. "Is that supposed to comfort me?"

I shrugged. "So, when will they be over?"

"We have several different deliveries for TVs first." L got to his feet and headed across the room to a phone that was on the wall. "All throughout the day, naturally. Several smaller deliveries to the hotel look less suspicious. Kira has no reason to believe that we are in here yet, let's not give him cause." He picked up the phone but kept a finger on the hook, looking back at me. "What would you like for your breakfast?" There was the smallest hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth.

"Are you teasing me?" My brows shot up.

"I haven't the foggiest clue what you're on about," L replied coolly. "Would you prefer western food?"

I laughed a bit and shrugged. "Hey, I'm in Japan. Might as well eat some local food."

"Sushi?"

"Uh, preferably nothing in the raw meat department. Teriyaki chicken?"

"Doable."

After L ordered our food, he came back and sat next to me. I was tempted to poke his back to test his balance again. It really was odd how he sat like that.

"I have a request," L said abruptly.

I blinked, frowning over at him. "Is that so?"

"I feel it is only fair, especially considering this situation, that I know more about you, since you know some things about me," L said. "I understand you do not want to give that information freely, since that is your idea of a game, or competition between us. So my proposal is that we play a game. If I win the game, you must tell me one truth about you. It doesn't matter what it is, I don't care if it is your birthplace or your favorite color. We will play this game once each evening."

"And if I win?" I raised a brow at him.

"What would you like?" L asked.

I weighed the possibilities. Yes, I did know some things about L. But not too much, not as much as I'd liked. I didn't know his favorite movie. Or if he even watched movies. If he liked pineapple on his pizza. I suppose to some, these would seem like useless pieces of information. But somehow, when I walked in and saw L for the first time, the fact that I was surprised annoyed me. Shouldn't I have deduced more about this man than I had? Wouldn't I have gotten a clue about his obsession with sweets and sitting like some odd bird?

I had managed to dig up the deepest, most hidden thing about L, and yet I knew nothing about him. It bothered me to no end, like an itch that was beneath my skin so scratching it was going to be next to impossible. I had found that knowledge is power doing what I do. Even the smallest detail about someone could prove to be an invaluable weapon. Or even a defense. I wasn't L's enemy. But if I knew more about how he worked, how he functioned, I might be able to better defend him against Kira.

"The same thing," I finally answered the detective. "One truth. No matter how big or how small."

L considered me. I could tell he was not comfortable with the idea. But it seemed that he was desperate for more information about me. He nodded.

"Very well," he said.

"Hang on," I said, holding up a hand. "I want to know what the game is before I completely agree to this."

L shrugged. "Two lies, one truth."

I stared at him. "Seriously?"

He held my gaze, unwavering.

I sighed. "First off, isn't it two truths and a lie?"

"I figured you would prefer it to be two lies and one truth so you reveal less at a time."

"That's hardly fair. In the game itself, I'm letting out a truth about me!" I said.

"Correct. And if I guess which thing is the truth, you must reward me with another truth." L gripped his knees and examined his own fingers as the worried the creases of the fabric.

I rolled my eyes. "You truly think I'd play this with you?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course," L said. "Because if I can't guess correctly, I will have to tell you a truth."

"But you get two if you win!" I argued.

"You already know something quite important about me, Jack." L's eyes darted over to mine again. He arrested me with a gaze so intense it made me want to run to the other side of the room. "If you care to share with me a similar fact about yourself, then I will concede to only taking one truth at a time if I win."

I let out a long breath, leaning back in the couch. He was clever, that was for certain. He knew that I loved challenges, that I wanted to know more about him as much as he did me. We were both intensely curious people. But also secretive. Neither of us wanted anyone too close. Since we were each so defensive of our personal selves, it made it that much greater of a challenge to pry out the truth.

Damn it.

"How do you know I won't just tell you three lies?" I asked L, tilting my head.

L shrugged. "I doubt you would cheat. There's no glory in winning if you do."

For someone who didn't know me, he kind of knew me. Nox was laughing over by the kitchen. I shot the Shinigami a glare before I realized what I was doing. L perked a brow at my action, but before he could speak, there was a knock at the door.

"Ah," L said, getting to his feet. His movements were smooth and elegant, almost like a panther or some other big cat. "The food is here."

He padded over to the door and opened the door. I heard him greet someone in Japanese.

"My thanks. Mm, no, please I would prefer you to wait here. My girlfriend isn't exactly presentable at the moment. I will bring the cart back to you in a moment."

"Of course, sir," the bell boy's voice replied.

L wheeled in a cart with several plates of food on it. He closed the door and rolled it over to the table I was at.

"I'm not presentable?" I asked him with raised brows. "What exactly are you implying, detective?"

"Appearances, Jack," L murmured as he started putting the plates on the table. "We are a couple, remember?"

"Do you want me to make some noise to really sell it?" I asked with a sly smirk.

L met my eyes, pausing as he was setting a plate of small cakes down. "That would be... ill advised."

I laughed, but honestly, I was disappointed I didn't at least get a blush out of him. I must be losing my touch. Or L was just a tough customer. Probably the latter.

Once all the plates were on the table, L returned the cart to the bell boy, tipped him, and shut the door. I admired our meal as the detective came back to sit by me. It consisted of my chicken teriyaki, which both smelled and looked delectable. There was a bowl of white steamed rice on the side. L had gotten a small bowl of ramen, along with some rice of his own. But what I was assuming was his main food intake this afternoon was a huge supply of sweets.

There were the cakes, of course. Five small things of varying flavors and shapes, each large enough to serve one person. Then there was the small ice cream sundae, which is what L was already digging into. Next was a platter of chocolates. They were all rectangular and seemed to be containing some kind of red cream filling. The chocolate seemed somewhat powdered on the top. The last plate was empty save one pack of sake Kitkats.

"Is that for me?" I asked, pointing at it.

"Mm." L swallowed his mouthful of ice cream and nodded. "You were mentioning it before. There you have it. It's decent. I personally prefer the white chocolate flavor."

"Thanks, L," I said, reaching over and snatching it up. "I'll have it for dessert."

We ate in relative silence. It seems L had forgotten about my answer to his game proposal. I'd let that be until he brought it up again. At one point, Watari returned with one of the shipments of TVs. He set the two of them on the far side of the living room.

"We can rearrange the furniture after we finish eating," L said. He had finished his ramen and most of his rice, but he'd also dug through three cakes and some of the chocolates. How was this guy so skinny? "Make it more comfortable for all of us to be able to view the screens."

"I'm guessing each of us will be watching different times to find the guy?" I said before popping another bit of chicken into my mouth.

L nodded. "More eyes will make it to where we can find what we need faster," he explained.

Once we finished our food, I took out my Kitkats and broke one of the bars off and took a bite.

"Mm!" I wriggled with delight. "It's delicious!"

"I'm glad you like it," L said. He was finishing up his last cake. "You can have some of the chocolates too. They are raspberry filled."

I did indeed partake in some of the chocolates. They melted in my mouth. It was more like fudge than regular chocolates, not that I was complaining.

As I licked my fingers from the chocolate powder, L spoke up again.

"So, what is your answer? Will you play my game?" he asked.

I groaned and looked up at the ceiling. Not sure why. Maybe I was hoping to see some sort of divine sign to help me out of this mess. But instead all I heard was Nox laughing again. I made sure to ignore him this time.

"Fine," I said. "But once every week. Not once a day."

"Agreed," L said. "We can start now. Tell me two lies and one truth. If I guess the truth, you must confirm it and give me another truth. The truths can be anything, anything at all, so long as they retain to yourself and are factual."

"You want to start now?" I asked.

L nodded curtly. "Of course. Before the officers get here. We will be busy after that."

"All right, fine," I mumbled. "Just let me think for a moment."

Two lies, one truth. The key was to make them similar, I knew that. It would throw L off track. But I didn't want to give him a significant truth to start with, no matter if he could point it out or not. Placement of the truth was important too. I couldn't do it the same each time, nor could I do it in a pattern. I had to make it as random as possible.

"Give me three bits of paper," I said suddenly.

L blinked. "What for?"

"Do you want me to play this game or not?" I demanded.

L stared at me for a moment longer before he let out a small breath and got to his feet. He went into the other room for a moment.

"This is interesting," Nox said, approaching me and sitting in the chair to my right. "Are you really going to tell him a truth? Just remember what you should and shouldn't talk about openly, Jack."

"I know," I retorted, my voice but a soft hiss through my teeth.

After a few more heartbeats, L came back into the room. "What was that?" he asked me.

"Hm?" I felt my gut flip. I didn't mean to respond to Nox so recklessly.

"I thought you'd said something," L said.

"Nope, wasn't me," I assured him. "Do you have the paper?"

L shrugged and handed me some sticky notes. "Will these do?"

"Yes." I took the sticky notes and peeled three off. "I need something to write with."

"I figured," L said. He reached into his pocket and produced a pen. "Here."

"Thanks," I said, setting to work.

I wrote my two lies and one truth on the notes, one on each. Then, I shuffled them up to the point where even I had no idea which was which. This made the order they were presented in completely random. I also made sure to do it behind my back so L couldn't watch. I handed him the papers and nodded, indicating he could read them.

L looked at the notes, reading aloud.

"I first saw the ocean when I was fifteen years old." He went to the next note. "I first went to another country when I was fifteen years old." He went on to the last one. "I first broke a bone when I was fifteen."

He laid out the papers before him. I leaned back in my seat, not wanting to give anything away. His eyes darted between each note, his hands folding in front of him. He pressed his knuckles to his lips.

"You first went to another country for the first time when you were fifteen years old," L said at last, looking over at me.

I slowly smirked at him. His eyes darted away, his face falling into something of tight disappointment. He already knew by my reaction that he was wrong.

"Sorry, Sherlock," I said. "Now give me a truth about yourself."

L sighed and glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "Very well. We did have a deal. Here's my truth."

I leaned closer to him, waiting with bated breath.

"I've never read all of Sir Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books." L reached over and grabbed the pot of coffee he had brought up with the food and poured himself a glass like nothing had happened.

"Are you kidding?" I groaned. "They're a masterpiece! How can you just be a world famous detective and not read- ugh. Whatever, that wasn't even a decent truth anyway!"

L snorted softly. "I said I'd give you a truth, not a impressive one."

"Well, I'll have you know, all the Sherlock books are delightful. You at least got to the ghost hound one, right?"

"That's where your quote came from. Of course I got that far."

I laughed and shook my head. "I feel like someone like you should have read every book that exists."

"That would be impossible."

"Sure, but still. You seem like you can do the impossible, L."

"I suppose I should be flattered by that." L sipped his coffee and made a face. He then started adding spoonfuls of sugar to it. He didn't stop until he got to eight scoops. "So, you had seen other countries before you were fifteen?"

Shit. I didn't think about the fact that by telling L lies, he would still get truths out of me. I had to be more delicate about what I lied about. But all the same, I shrugged and nodded. So he knew one detail about me. It wasn't like I was going to give him details about that detail.

"Which country?"

"Come now, L, that's cheating, you lost the game," I told him.

L looked down at his coffee. "It's not like you're telling me what country you're from."

"It's telling you what country I'm not from," I pointed out. "Nice try."

He tilted his head in a small gesture that seemed to say that he should get an A for effort.

We cleaned up our plates then set to rearranging the room. L pushed the table up to the far wall, and we set all the seats up to be facing it. We then set up the TVs we had. Each of them had built-in VCR players. Old school. While we were still doing that, our last shipment of TVs arrived. Watari came in with them on a dolly. The elderly man helped us set the last of them up. In total we have five, not including the flat-screen that the hotel room came with.

"How many tapes are we expecting?" I asked, not too keen on the answer.

L glanced my way. "Lots."

"Oh good."

L gave a small smirk. It was barely a twitch of his mouth, but I caught it. I was slightly pleased that I had amused him.


	6. Because Hacking is What I Do

_L_

The officers arrived after the sun had set, tapes in hand. As L had promised Jack, there were lots.

"Oh, this looks delightful," she had said when Matsuda set the first stack on the couch. Then Aizawa came in with the next stack. And Yagami with the third. Jack had then groaned and went to the kitchen to make royal milk tea.

L had to ponder which of the other two statements Jack had given him for their game was the truth. He knew she wouldn't cheat. One of those was a truth, for certain. But which one? Logically, he would think it was more likely that her seeing the ocean for the first time was the other lie. If she'd gone to another country, there was a chance it was overseas. But she might have done that on purpose to throw him off. She was from North America, he was certain. It was possible to go into other countries without seeing an ocean there.

If it was the breaking a bone, he found himself curious how she did it. Perhaps doing something irresponsible? Jack was both careful and reckless, he'd noticed. It was a very awkward balance she had found between the two. He wondered if he could get her to slip up and tell him about it. That was assuming, of course, if her breaking a bone for the first time when she was fifteen was the truth.

L focused on the tapes. He had other things to worry about rather than Jack's past right now.

"There is something else I wanted to discuss with all of you," he said as the officers fired up all the TVs. "Raye Penber's fiance seems to have gone missing. The day after he was killed to be exact."

Yagami looked over at him, perking a brow. "Is that so? You think it was Kira?"

"I don't know," Aizawa said. "It's possible she... well, you know. Committed suicide."

"I doubt it," L said. "And I think Nina will agree with me."

"Hm?" Jack returned with her tea. "Why is that?"

"Raye's fiance was Naomi Misora," L replied.

Jack's face fell. "She's missing?" she breathed.

L nodded. The officers all looked confused.

"You both knew her?" Matsuda guessed.

"She was a part of the case we worked together before," Jack said. "She was an FBI agent."

"It could be that Penber spoke with her about something related to his case," L said. "That she knew something vital. So vital Kira was forced to intervene."

"How do we know she didn't kill herself?" Matsuda suggested meekly.

Jack spun to face him. "No way! Naomi would never. She's too full of fire. She wouldn't roll over—she'd..."

"She'd try to help us," L finished.

"Shit," Jack muttered, glaring at her feet. "I really liked Naomi..."

L was aware of that. She and Naomi had grown close on their last case, especially considering Jack helped save her life. They never met face to face, of course. But all the same, a connection had been made.

"I'm sure a lot of people liked some of the people Kira's killed," Aizawa pointed out hotly.

"Hey, I was just as invested in this before as I am now, jerkwad." Jack said the last word in English, leaving Aizawa blinking in confusion.

"What did you call me? Because I'm fairly certain it wasn't respectful!" he spat.

"Enough!" Yagami barked. "We need to review these tapes, can we please do it in peace?"

Aizawa glared at Jack for a moment longer before turning his attention to a TV.

L shot Jack a warning look which she responded with a roll of her eyes and a nod, silently agreeing to back off of Aizawa, at least for now.

An hour later, L shoved a tape into one of the TV's VCRs and watched it flicker to life. The work of watching through each tape was certainly getting monotonous. They had to find the moment when Penber got on the train to start. Jack had been kind enough to make enough royal milk tea for everyone, even Aizawa, who took his cup with a slight scowl.

"Oh!" Matsuda's voice suddenly chimed in. "I got him! I got him boarding the train!"

Everyone turned their attention to the TV Matsuda was at. Sure enough, there was their FBI agent, Raye Penber, approaching the dock, waiting for the next train to arrive.

"He looks a bit... strained." Jack swapped out her large headphones for just ear buds, and only had one in her right ear. She sipped her cup and squinted at the screen. "Let's see... he's holding a briefcase and a folder under his arm."

That he was. And L noted that Penber indeed had a look of wariness on his face. The train arrived and he boarded.

"15:13..." L murmured, noting the time stamp in the corner of the screen. "Well, we know when we got the call about his death, yes?"

"Roughly 16:45," Yagami said.

"Let's check the tapes around then," L said.

The officers set to work finding the correct tape. Jack was frowning.

"That's a long time to be on a train," she said.

"I was thinking the same thing," L replied. He drank from his cup. Jack had already added honey to it when she gave it to him. He'd still added more, but all the same, he found the gesture on a level of kind consideration that he hadn't thought Jack to be capable of.

They finally found the right tape.

"There!" Aizawa cried, pointing.

Raye Penber stepped off of the train onto the dock. The moment both feet were out of the car, he staggered, clutching his chest. His briefcase fell to the ground, and so did Penber. He landed on his side, facing the train. Then, he did something odd. His body strained, his hand reaching up and toward the car he'd just exited. It was impossible to see inside the train from the angle of the camera.

"He's... reaching..." Jack breathed.

"And the folder he had when he boarded is gone," L murmured.

They played it back a few times. L was perched in a chair so close to the screen he could feet the static pulling his hair gently. His heart was thrumming in his neck. The folder... and Penber reaching...

"What is it, Ryuzaki?" Yagami asked. "You must have an idea."

L nodded. "I think Kira is on that train."

Aizawa let out a small grunt of surprise. "You think so?"

"Raye Penber enters through the turnstile at Shinjuku station at 15:11- that's what his ticket stub confirmed. He boarded the train on the Yamanote line at 15:13. Even if he was being shadowed, the image isn't clear enough to tell... " L took a thoughtful sip from his cup. "He dies the moment he gets off the train at 16:45. One full circuit loop on the Yamanote line takes an hour and he was on that train for an hour and a half. But no other ticket was found on him and there was nothing on his prepaid card to indicate he got off and reentered."

"He got the names from him," Jack said. L looked over his shoulder to see her shaking her head. Her eyes were alight with something L couldn't place. "He had him put them in that folder."

"What makes you say that?" Aizawa demanded.

Jack rolled her eyes. "Right before he died, Penber received an email with with a file containing the names and faces of all the FBI agents that were in Japan."

L nodded. "He received this email at 15:21. That's just eight minutes after he boarded. He sat on that train for an hour and a half with that file... And then, as he's dying... he appears to be desperately trying to look into the train. To reach for the doors. Wouldn't it be interesting if Kira was on that train? Holding him hostage?"

"It would have to be someone who knew he was with the FBI," Jack said, gripping her chin. "Who knew he could be targeted to get information on the other agents."

"Well this is good, isn't it?" Matsuda asked. "We can narrow it down now to who Penber was investigating."

"Specifically who he was investigating that has connections to the police," Jack said.

Aizawa shot her an infuriated glare. "What are you implying?"

"Hey, Ryu is the one who told you first," Jack said. "Kira has access to police records. And I promise you, he isn't getting them by hacking the hard way. If he had those kind of skills, he'd be using them for more than just getting your guys' info. He's able to get in there with relative ease. Which means he's an officer, or he's related to one somehow."

"How can you be so certain?" Aizawa demanded.

"Because hacking is what I do," Jack retorted. "Now, instead of biting my head off whenever you get the chance, how about we work together to figure this out?"

"What Nina stated is the most probable case," L said, glancing toward Aizawa. "Logically speaking, if Kira had impressive hacking capabilities, he would be using them to his advantage."

"He wouldn't have needed Penber to get the FBI names, I can tell you that," Jack said.

"Are you saying you can hack into the FBI database?" Aizawa scoffed.

Jack shrugged. "If I wanted to, sure. It would take some time, but I could find a way."

Aizawa snorted. "Fine, let's say you're right. What does that bring us to?"

"It brings us to two families that Raye Penber was investigating between the 14th and the 19th of December," L said. "Families that are affiliated with the police, anyway."

"Which ones?" Matsuda asked eagerly.

L hesitated for a moment. He picked up his cup again, sipping. "The family of the deputy director... and the family of the Chief of police."

All eyes went to Yagami. The Chief stiffened visibly. He took a deep breath.

"I see," he said. "So then... what is our next step, Ryuzaki?"

L drained his cup. He set it down and gripped his knees. "I would like to set up cameras and wire taps in each family's household for surveillance for the next week."

"What?!" Aizawa cried. "You can't be serious! What about their privacy?"

"We're trying to catch the serial killer with the largest kill count in all of known history," Jack pointed out. "I think a little breach of privacy is worth it if we can catch him."

"You're accusing the Chief's family!" Aizawa shouted.

"It's all right," Yagami said. "If this will prove my family's innocence, then... then I will do it."

Smart man. L knew for certain Yagami himself was not Kira. But his family was not out of the question. He had a son that was just about to graduate high school. He was at the top of his class. Someone with that level of intelligence and with the access he no doubt had to his father's personal computer...

"We will have everything installed tomorrow while the families are out of the homes for the day," L said. "Watari?"

"I will see to it, sir," Watari replied. He was standing behind the seats, having been watching everything with polite silence.

"We'll need more TVs," Jack murmured, tapping her lower lip with a finger.

"Nina, I would actually like you to go with Watari tomorrow," L said.

Jack blinked. "Pardon?"

"You can look at the computers in the households," Jack said. "See if you can find anything."

"Are you kidding?" Aizawa snapped. "She's not an officer- she's not even- I've never heard of her before now, and we're going to let her just snoop through their private files?"

"If we can find evidence to find and condemn Kira, then I think it is worth it, don't you?" L said.

Aizawa was growing red in the face.

"Listen." Jack gently set her cup on the TV stand the flat-screen was on. She focused her green gaze on Aizawa. "I get that you don't like me. That you don't trust me. I know that you don't want to believe that Kira is indeed among one of these families. But if he is among them, won't you feel like the biggest piece of ass for not allowing us to do everything we can to track him down? If Kira is one of them, does his true identity forgive what's he done?"

Aizawa cast his glare to the ground. He clenched and unclenched his fists.

"I know it sucks," Jack said. "I would be delighted if I didn't find anything. But let me go in and prove it, prove that these families aren't involved."

L saw a slight twinge in her mouth when she said that. Of course she was lying. She'd love to find condemning evidence in those computers. It would mean they would find Kira all the faster and solve this case. But she had to calm Aizawa down. She would say what was needed to do that. She understood harmony with everyone on the task force would be the best thing to achieve in order to make everything go smoother.

"Fine," Aizawa muttered. "If the Chief has no objections then who am I to argue?"

"It will be all right, Aizawa," Yagami assured. "I'm sure that between the surveillance and Nina sweeping the computers, we can clear out my family and the deputy director's as suspects and move on."

"Won't we need a warrant?" Jack asked. "If we do find evidence... we would need one in order to present it in court, yes?"

"Not necessarily," L replied. "Considering the degree of murder Kira is causing, this investigation can be handled with a bit less... paperwork."

"Makes sense, I suppose," Jack said. "I've just run into that issue before. Of course, that guy wasn't a mass serial killer." She picked up her cup again and started heading back to the kitchen. "Anyone want some snacks?" she called over her shoulder.

"Oh, are there some more chocolates?" Matsuda asked hopefully.

"No, Ryu sneaked the rest," Jack said.

"You make it sound like I'm a thief," L muttered, rewinding the tape and watching Raye Penber die again. "I'm the one who bought them."

"Sharing is caring, Ryu!" Jack sang. "Matsuda, we have some sweet Kitkats. They're Sake flavor. Totally the bomb."

As Matsuda went over to take Jack up on her offer, L watched Raye Penber die for a third time. He bit his thumbnail. Raye fell to the ground, shuddering, reaching, then going still.

Gone. Just like that. Like a fleeting breath leaving the lungs. L was the one who brought him and the other eleven FBI agents to Japan. Now all of them were dead. L's eyes flicked up and over each person in the room. All of them were here for the same cause. He had beckoned them to help him fight Kira. Each of them could lose their lives just like Raye Penber.

L rewound and watched again. He pictured Yagami collapsing to the ground. Aizawa. Matsuda.

Jack.

He could see it clearly- her blue hair reflecting the light in the subway station. The people all yelling and running toward her. Her clutching her chest and her face twisting up in agony. Her body shuddering one final time before it went still, never to move again. Her lips never to smile. Her headphones falling from her head and lying on the concrete, music playing from their speakers for no one.

She was the only one L didn't ask for. She had come to him, insisting on helping him. Yet somehow, he lingered on the thought of her dying longer than the others. He felt it twist up his gut just a fraction more. Perhaps because she was going to be so valuable to this investigation. Losing her would be a heavy set back.

He watched Raye Penber die for the sixth time, biting his nail.

"Hey."

Someone flicked his ear and L blinked, turning his head. Jack was glaring at him, arms folding.

"I told you to stop chewing your nails," she said.

"I am an adult capable of making my own decisions," L told her.

Jack continued to stare at him. "You can just think of me as your impulse control." A wicked grin caught her lips.

A grin L wouldn't see ever again if he did this wrong.

All of them were counting on him. Despite how he let the FBI agents die, they still looked to him and did as he asked. Believed in him.

"I'd like you to wear some sort of disguise when you go out tomorrow, Nina," Jack said. "If someone happens to spot you near one of the homes, it would be better for them not to see your true appearance."

"Sounds fun," Jack said. "I have some wigs in my bag. I'll use the dark brown one, it won't stand out as much here."

She wasn't wrong. The majority of Japanese people had black or brown hair. Anything lighter would catch the eye. Jack was already pale as snow, she didn't need anything else making her a beacon in a crowd.

"And I guess I can put on makeup." Jack made a face at that.

Matsuda laughed. "What's wrong, Nina? You don't like makeup?"

"It's hardly worth the effort," Jack said. "But I suppose I can suffer for the case."

"How noble of you to make such a sacrifice." L got to his feet. "I believe that will be everything for this evening. Gentlemen, thank you for joining us. If one of you could come pick up Nina at 8:00 AM sharp, I would appreciate it."

"8?!" Jack exclaimed. "Why that early?"

"Do you think it is simple work setting up bugs and cameras?" L asked her, raising a brow.

"Ugh, fine," Jack groaned. She turned and began heading for her room.

"Where are you going?" L called.

Jack glanced back. "To bed. If you want me up that early, I need to get some sleep."

"It's 7," L said. "How much sleep do you need?"

"Enough," Jack retorted. "I'll set my alarm for 6:30. That'll give me enough time to make a new me and I'll be ready to be picked up."

She then went to her room and closed the door behind her. L stared for a moment. If she fell asleep within a half hour, she would be getting eleven hours of sleep. He remembered how hard it was to wake her this morning. L chewed on his tongue. He would have to do some more investigating. Jack was certainly a mystery in herself. One he couldn't ignore, despite how he tried.

* * *

 _Jack_

I laid in bed, fiddling with the cord to my ear buds. Music pumped in through my right ear, my sleeping playlist. But I wasn't ready to sleep just yet, despite the vigorous workout I'd put my body through; crunches, sit-ups, jogging in place, the works. My mind still would not calm down.

I knew how he did it. I knew how Kira killed the FBI agents. It all fell into place so perfectly. I just needed to confirm it.

"Nox," I whispered.

"Mm?"

Nox's silhouette loomed by the window. His tall, lanky frame outlined by the light from outside. There was snow on the ground and overcast. The light from the city reflected off both the snow and the clouds, creating a gray glow.

"The Death Note," I murmured. "I'm technically the owner of mine. And Kira the owner of his, right?"

"Yes," Nox replied. "What of it?"

"If I let someone else use my Death Note, would it work for them?" I fixated my gaze on the outline of Nox's head.

Nox let out a long breath. "Yes. Anyone can use a Death Note so long as they are over the age of six."

"And it wouldn't change owners?"

"No."

"And the pages—if I rip out a page, and write a name on it, would it still work? Would the person still die?"

"Yes."

My heart was thrumming in my ears. "That's how he did it, Nox. Kira put pages of the Death Note in that folder for Raye Penber. He had him think of the people's faces and names and write them down. He made Penber kill them, then he killed Penber."

Heat rose in my face. My hands trembled and clutched the sheets.

"That asshole doomed Penber to purgatory." I hissed the words through my clenched teeth.

It was the only thing that made sense, the only way that Kira could have killed all the agents in one fell swoop. But it was a mistake. L was correct about Kira being childish. He killed the agents to show that he could. To try and scare those that would oppose him. But now he left a trail. Something for L to investigate further; more bread crumbs leading to his witch's house. If he had let the agents be, it was more than possible that they didn't find anything damning.

And not to mention, he wouldn't have ignited such wrath.

I didn't peg L as an angry person. I didn't see him as someone who would throw a tantrum. But I knew that Kira killing the agents had made L mad. The thing was, L's fury was cold and calculated. It didn't hinder his skills or thinking. If anything, it honed them. Kira had drawn blood of innocents now. That brought this into a whole different perspective for L. It damned Kira even further. Drove L to fight even harder, even faster to catch him.

Perhaps Kira was thinking planting such rage would cause L to slip up. To make L clumsy and reckless in his anger. But Kira didn't know the first thing about L, not truly. I had berated myself earlier for not knowing enough about the detective, but now I realized I did know some things. Enough to know Kira might as well have shot himself in the foot.

"I'm going to find him, Nox," I breathed. "I'm going to find him and I'm going to tear down the tower he's so desperately trying to build. I'm going to rip apart that fragile ego of his until it's nothing but a bleeding pulp. He'll wish he never touched his Death Note."

"You certainly sound quite violent for someone who won't kill," Nox noted.

"Viruses go into a computer or device and take things apart from the inside out," I said. "A computer that has a virus doesn't burst into flame or blow up. You can't see any physical damage to the monitor or tower or any of the pieces inside. But if a virus is good enough, if it's able to dig deep enough... that computer may look fine, but the moment you try to turn it on, it's completely and utterly useless. A bit of metal no better than a paperweight."

I grinned as sleep began to kiss the edges of my mind. I knew the pull would be too great to resist soon.

"Don't you think that killed the computer?" Nox asked.

"The computer can still turn on," I told him. "All the parts are intact. No, Nox, the computer isn't dead." I rolled onto my side as I pushed in my other ear bud. "It's worse."

I slept deeply. Within my dreams, I found myself standing in front of a mirror in a familiar bathroom. I'd long since learned to lucid dream, and the moment I saw my face, so much younger than I knew myself to be, I knew it wasn't real.

"This again?" I murmured.

I reached forward and touched the mirror with my child hand. I was eight. I knew that because of several things. This was the home that we moved into when I was six and left when I was nine. The shirt I wore was one that I'd gotten for my eighth birthday and it still had a tag hanging from the sleeve. I was far too excited about having a Pikachu shirt that I hadn't bothered waiting for anyone to take it off.

This was the night after my birthday. This was a night I tried so hard to forget.

The thing with lucid dreaming- at least with how I lucid dreamed- was that I was fully aware it was a dream, I could control my actions and thoughts. But the setting... everything around me... that was different. That was a piece that was beyond me. Sometimes, when a dream was stressful enough, I could force it away, but it also resulted in me waking up.

Slowly, I turned and began to pad out of the bathroom. Everything around me was comically large. I wasn't used to being the height of an eight year old. My feet were in white socks, the same brand that I wore to this day. I was picky about my socks. I only trusted one type and always crew. I preferred my ankle bones to be covered.

Somewhere in the home, I could hear voices. The thing was, I remember over hearing them when I was actually here, when I was eight and in this house. But then I never went into the room, not during their conversation. Of course, since I was here again, why not? Perhaps something would have changed.

"...know what I said, but I'm just saying, it's wrong to keep it from her."

"She's eight, Liz. Eight. Don't you think that's too early to tell her?"

"...Shaun, she's already completely blowing other kids out of the water at school. And her obsession with Sherlock Holmes..."

I came around the corner then, into the kitchen. I looked up at the two figures that towered over me. They both seemed shocked I'd appeared.

"Sweetie..." A woman knelt before me. "You should be in bed, silly girl. What are you doing?"

I stared at her face. She was beautiful, this woman. Her eyes were almond shaped, and a deep sea blue. Her hair was black as night, and fell in silken waves around her shoulders. Her stature was thin and delicate, like a fairy. I used to think this woman was magical- that she was the very essence of purity and beauty.

"It's okay," I told her. My voice was small and soft; the voice of a child. "I already know. You don't have to worry, though."

"Honey, what are you talking about?"

The man stepped forward now. I looked up at him and smiled. He was handsome, in a gruff sort of way. His stubble was almost transitioning over into a beard. Oddly, it carried a reddish tint while his hair was blond. It stuck up in the front, too short to have weight to force it to lie flat. His eyes were a deep brown, so dark they almost appeared black. I yearned for him to kneel down and hug me. I remembered how safe I felt in his arms. Like nothing in this world could ever even think to harm me.

"I will always see you as my mom and dad," I said, my voice cracking. "I will always love both of you."

I woke.

My pillow was damp and I could hear the vibration of my cell phone in my hand. My alarm.

The dream was so short... had I really been asleep so long? It wasn't enough time. There was never enough time.

I buried my face in my pillow. It was both an effort to wake myself up more and to wipe my eyes dry. No need for Nox to tease me. Or for L to see. I sat up and popped one ear bud out and yawned.

"Good morning," I murmured to the Shinigami.

Nox was sitting on my window sill, staring out into the city. It was still dark.

"Pleasantries?" he said, glancing toward me. "You must be in a good mood."

"I get to work today," I said, still keeping my voice down.

It was definitely something to be in a good mood about. Being up early sucked ass, but I got to do what I did best today. And there was a chance I would find evidence about Kira's true identity. If I could just find out who he was... surely with L's help we could end him. Then I could get his Death Note and destroy it.

I slid out of bed and got ready for the day. Since I was going to be leaving the hotel, and needed to be in disguise, I dressed appropriately. I had some black slacks and a plain black long sleeve shirt. I pulled on a nice gray jacket I'd actually bought here in Japan when I arrived. It was pleat. More Fancy than I was used to. Then I set to my face.

Makeup was an annoyance, but I had a knack for it. I pulled a kit from my bathroom bag and set to work. Contouring coloring just right was an excellent way to make one's face look different from what it typically is. I made my lips look thinner than they actually were, my cheeks a touch more hollow, my nose sharper. I also popped in my brown colored contact lenses for effect. After that I pulled on my wig. It was longer than my actual hair but still only reached my shoulders. It was a chocolate-brown shade with sweeping bangs.

I grabbed my shoes, some ankle-high boots with half-inch heels, black in color, and snatched my scarf. It was my deep red one. I couldn't resist having some splash of color. After switching iPods, I realized I'd be stuck with the ear buds today. My yellow headphones were a bit too conspicuous.

Finally, I gathered my supplies for the actual work I'd be doing. A case of thumb drives, varying in memory sizes. My mini laptop. It was pink and had a 13 inch screen and was razor thin. Easy enough to keep in a handbag. I also made sure to put on the watch Watari gave me. I had no intention of running off on L, and wanted to make sure he knew he could trust me.

I left my room for the first time and saw L at the coffee table. His laptop was open and he was going over some files. There was a cup of coffee near him and a bowl of small sweets next to it. They looked to be some kind of hard candy.

"A bit early for dessert, isn't it?" I teased.

L looked my way. He blinked.

"That's... surprisingly impressive," he said.

"Oh, gee, thanks." I walked over to him, shouldering my satchel.

"You truly don't look like yourself," L said. "Does your passport look anything like this?"

"Indeed it does," I replied. "I devised Nina Forner specifically for this case and for traveling here."

I reached into my satchel and produced my passport to L. He gripped it and looked it over. It was Canadian, and I was wearing this wig for the picture. It was an expensive wig, too. The kind with real hair cancer patients got.

"This is an impressive fake," L noted, looking over the passport.

"I know a guy." I shrugged.

L handed it back. "Be careful so that you don't have to give out even your fake name to someone today."

"I am the picture of caution." I bowed deeply. "No need to worry about me."

Watari stepped into the room. He had a travel mug in his hand and handed it to me. "Some royal milk tea, Miss Forner. For the road."

"You sir, are a saint," I gushed as I took the mug and sipped. It was just the right temperature and had the perfect amount of honey. "Let's go get this over with. Here's to hoping we can end this investigation today."

"I trust you know what to look for when in these computers," L said.

"Naturally," I said. "Leave it to me, Ryu. Watson is on the case." I saluted him and winked before turning and following Watari out the door.


	7. I'll Play Your Game, You Rogue

_**A/N: Sorry the update is a day late; I was ill and totally spaced it. Hope you all enjoy!**_

It was a quiet drive over to the homes in question. Watari commented on the weather and how it wasn't snowing any longer thankfully. He also made sure to ask if I was too cold or too warm on the ride there. He was a gentleman to the last detail; I could see where L got some of his manners. Too bad the detective didn't exercise all of Watari's politeness and courtesies.

The first home was the one of the deputy director. I'd already read the files L had on each member of the household. None of them seemed to stand out. There was the director himself, his wife, and their three kids. Two girls one boy. The girls were the eldest, one in high school, the other in her last year of middle school. The boy was only ten, placing him in grade school. All in all, I wasn't certain any of these people were going to be Kira. Nothing in L's files suggested they had the smarts to work as delicately as Kira did.

All the same, I wasn't going to rule them out.

We had to wait about fifteen minutes for Watari's people to give us the go ahead. It seems some people were still home. Watari parked down a block and around the corner. I drummed my fingers on the dashboard to my music. It didn't seem to bother the old man.

"This is kind of cool," I admitted. I spoke in English since I knew Watari was fluent. "I've never actually been part of a team sneaking into someone's home and getting on their computers. I've always had to do it solo. I feel like I'm part of the FBI or something."

"Well, the death of FBI agents is why we're here," Watari noted. "But I'm pleased you're finding a bright side."

I could tell he actually meant those words. He wasn't one to be passive aggressive or sarcastic.

"Well, hopefully their deaths won't be in vain," I said. "Hopefully it's what will lead us to Kira."

"You're hoping he's in one of these homes? You told Aizawa otherwise."

"I told him that to shut him up. The sooner we find Kira the better. For everyone."

Watari nodded. "Well, I can honestly say I agree with you."

Good, at least someone was sensible. I was beginning to really like Watari.

There was a buzz and Watari looked at his cell. There was a text on it. It was in katakana, but I was able to read most of it. We had the okay to head in.

Watari turned off the car and got out. I knew he was going to come around and let me out, and I suppose dressed as I was, I could just let him. But instead, I hopped out and shut the door behind me, pushing some of my wig hair behind an ear. Watari merely chuckled and beckoned for me to follow him.

Being careful not to slip on the ice, I followed Watari to the home. Some other people were already heading in with some equipment. They wore black outfits fit for robbers, but also bore official badges on their fronts. Hopefully no neighbors would get too curious.

However, among the men, one without a mask and wearing an official suit approached us.

"Oh hey, Ukita," I greeted him in Japanese and smiled widely.

Ukita didn't exactly look thrilled to be there. He sighed and folded his arms, looking over me. "So I guess now we see if you weren't just spouting crap about your skills."

"Have a little faith!" I said. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"Overseeing everything," Ukita replied. "And making sure if anyone asks questions or approaches that we're prepared."

I knew another piece of truth. Watari was just one man and I was sure despite his age he could move quite fast. An ideal babysitter for me in case I decided to attempt to take off. Ukita was just another babysitter- two was better than one. It could be that L didn't even tell the officer that he was meant to keep an eye on me, but Ukita was suspicious enough of me on his own.

"Well let's get down to business," I sang with a big smile and headed through the door. Mulan had always been one of my favorite Disney movies.

The deputy director had a nice house, that was for sure. Two story and a finished basement, making three floors in total. I went to the first computer I could find and asked Watari to find any others that might be in the house, including laptops and tablets.

The desktop I found was in a small office off the living room and wasn't even password secured. It was easy enough to poke around and search for anything of suspicion. I searched for key words like police, Kira, secret, criminals, names, faces... There were many others I tried, grabbing at even the most obscure thing. I even tried Death Note. But even when a file came up with something in common with my searches, it was useless. Nothing indicating that Kira had used this computer.

While I worked away at the computer, Ukita approached me.

"To be honest,I don't think I've ever seen anyone type so fast," he muttered.

"Years of practice," I said, eyes darting over the monitor as I conducted another search. "Shit... this isn't yielding any fruit."

"I thought you told Aizawa you hoped that Kira wasn't any of these people," Ukita accused. Again with this. It was the same thing Watari said.

"I did," I replied. "I lied. The sooner we find Kira, the sooner this can be over. Every moment he's still out there, more people die, and now that he's targeting the people attempting to catch him, it's not just criminals we're losing." I leaned back in my chair, swiveling it to face Ukita. "He could kill you. Or Ryu. Or anyone on the task force; should he have the right information. You'd rather let him keep getting chances to figure out who we are?"

Ukita bowed his head slightly. "I suppose I get where you're coming from. But still, to imagine it's anyone in either of these families..."

I nodded. "I get it. I once was friends with someone who turned out to be behind a huge drug ring. It wasn't easy when I found out. It was even worse when I was the one who put him behind bars. But people were dying and getting addicted to life-destroying drugs because of him. I hated it, but it had to be done."

Ukita looked me over, his brow furrowing. "You're a lot more mature than I originally thought. Why don't you act like this with the rest of the task force?"

"Because though I can be serious and straight forward, that's not who I am." I grinned. "I like to laugh and I like to tease. Aizawa especially, since he's so salty all the time."

Ukita actually chuckled a bit at that. "I think if he saw this side of you, he wouldn't be so judgmental."

I shrugged. "Maybe. I think it might just be in his nature to be a dick. But hey, we're wasting time, huh? This computer's got nothing. I'm going to check the others."

Ukita nodded as I got to my feet and headed out of the room. It was nice to have some bonding time with one of the other members of the task force. I felt like so far the only ones who liked me were Watari, Matsuda, and Mogi. Yagami and L tolerated me. Aizawa straight up despised me. But now maybe Ukita could be a part of my little friendship circle I was building.

I did this search with the other two computers that were found in the house. Another desktop in the eldest daughters room and a laptop that was in the master bedroom. Both were password secured, but they were easy enough for me to crack. I merely popped open my own laptop, plugging in one of my thumb drives, and went to work.

Both of these computers were clean as well. Every file I searched was useless. Though I had to admit, the daughter was really good at poetry. It took all my self control not to leave her a compliment at the bottom of one of her documents when it almost moved me to tears.

Between computer searches, I made sure to look around each room. If Kira was in this household, he could have left the Death Note here. As I went, I was careful to leave everything as I found it, including replacing a fallen dark hair back on a backpack I rifled through. Unfortunately, there was no sign of a notebook.

"You're sure this is all of them?" I asked Watari as I closed the laptop found in the master bedroom.

Watari nodded. "Afraid so, Miss Forner. Nothing of use?"

I shook my head. Even the recently deleted files were nothing to bat an eye at. Though I did see the deputy director did have an interesting little folder of images that his wife would probably have something to say about. I suppose having play boy, or whatever Japan's equivalent was would be considered hard evidence more than a deletable file was.

"Well, we still have another home to check," Watari said. "Come. They're finished up here and will be moving on soon."

I nodded and put the laptop back where I found it.

Next up was Chief Yagami's house. He had a wife and two kids, a daughter in middle school and a son who had just graduated high school at the top of his class. Now, out of what I had observed, Yagami himself was not Kira. L didn't think so either. That led the most likely suspect within the home to be his son, Light Yagami. He had the smarts for it, plus L and I already had suspicions that Kira was a student. It would only make sense.

As of right now, the chance Light was Kira was one percent. That was the number that L and I came to an agreement on. The number may not seem high, but out of everyone else, it was the highest. We had to pursue it.

"Now this is the Chief's house, so be respectful," Ukita was ordering the men who were swarming in with their gear.

"Does that mean I can't tilt every picture hanging on the walls slightly to drive everyone insane?" I asked.

Ukita shot me a glare, but a grin was tugging at the corner of his lips. "Don't you have some computers to snoop around in?"

I smirked wickedly at him before going toward the home.

Once inside the Yagami household, I first checked out the Chief's computer. Of course, it was password protected. It took me a moment to get in. There were no files of interest until I searched the recently deleted ones. Once they were restored, I saw they were all pertaining to the Kira case. But I had a feeling this wasn't anything to be alarmed about. Yagami surely would have these on his computer, and he got rid of them once he realize that Kira was getting information.

Even if by some insane stroke of chance that Yagami was Kira, this wasn't damning evidence.

I moved on through the first floor. I found a laptop in the girl's room that wasn't even password protected. It was bland as can be. Lots of things retaining to bands I wasn't familiar with and school work. When that was done, I headed upstairs. There were a few rooms up here. I looked through some of them to find none of them had computers.

Finally, I was left with only one room I hadn't searched. It's door was still closed. The camera guys hadn't been here yet either. I examined it with a frown. I hadn't found anything suggesting to be Light's room yet. I bet this was it. My eyes spied a speck of white and I saw there was a scrap of paper between the frame and door. Something to alert him if someone enters his room. It could be seen as just a teenage boy wanting his privacy.

I reached up and gripped it, making sure to note it's exact position. I opened the door slowly. I heard a small snap. Blinking, I looked to my right where the sound came from. It seemed to be one of the hinges. But when I moved the door back and forward again it remained silent, save the small whine of metal on metal. I set the paper just inside the room on the floor and spotted something near my foot.

It was a small stick of graphite. The kind for a mechanical pencil. I picked up with a furrow brow, then saw a second piece of it not too far away. Ah. This was in the hinge and snapped when I had opened the door. Well, I hadn't seen which hinge. I could certainly try to replace a new one, but if I got the wrong hinge it would be for nothing. This boy was smart.

I figured it would be best to attempt to replace it. Perhaps I would get lucky and pick the right hinge. It was worth a shot. But first thing was first.

I stepped into the room and knew for certain it was Light's. There was a desk directly in front of me, a bed to my right, some shelves to my left. Everything was pretty neat and tidy, especially for a teenage boy. There was a computer on the desk before me. My hands instantly itched to touch its keyboard. But I forced myself to wait. This was the most likely person to be Kira out of all their suspects currently. His Death Note could be in here, right under my nose.

I checked around his bed first. Nothing beneath, nothing under the pillows. The bedside table was also fruitless. I stomped around looking for a loose floorboard or hollow compartment. I pulled out random books on his shelf to no avail. Finally I went to the desk and checked the drawers. The bottom two had office supplies like erasers, sticky notes, index cards, extra pencils and graphite. I grabbed a stick for the door.

The top drawer, however, was locked.

I tried again, to no again, it wouldn't open.

"All right..." I breathed. "I'll play your game, you rogue..."

I reached into my bag and pulled out a bobby pin and a screwdriver. I was a hacker, but I could get through more than just digital locks. After a bit of finagling and a couple of colorful curse words, I got the lock to spring. Proud of my achievement and so certain I was going to get a juicy reward for it, my heart nearly burst out of my chest when I saw a notebook in the drawer.

But it was just a simple black leather-bound journal.

I picked it up, scowling at it from all angles. No Death Note written on it anywhere.

"A diary?" Nox chuckled. He'd been oddly quiet today, not that I was complaining. "He went through all that effort for a diary?"

"Odd for a teenage boy to keep a journal," I muttered. I opened it and saw some things documenting the past few weeks. He complained about finals and how simple they were. He fretted about getting into To-Oh academy. He mentioned Kira's actions and how he worried for his father. Nothing of use.

I replaced the journal and relocked the drawer before moving my attention to the computer. Now this... this might be of more use to me.

It was password protected, of course. And it took longer to crack this one than any of the others. Light wasn't using an easy password. He was using symbols and numbers capital and lower case letters, and it was probably long too. But I still got in all the same. I've hacked through worse.

Once in, I saw his desktop open up before me. It was an image of a lovely landscape with trees and a river. I wondered if it was taken here in Japan. I scanned through the icons he had up first. A word processor, the internet, a media player, a few games I wasn't familiar with. Then there was one by his documents icon.

It was a folder. It was titled simply: DO NOT DISTURB.

I stared at it for a moment. What was that supposed to mean? Maybe some indie game was in that folder? Or an obscure project he was working on for school? All the same, I was too curious.

I clicked it.

And the screen froze.

I nearly screamed. I knew this all too well. I had just opened a virus. Invited in something to seep into every nook and cranny this computer had. I swiftly worked at the keyboard. If I could just get control back for a second I could attempt to combat it. But my old friend control, alt, delete, did nothing for me. The mouse cursor was trapped in the loading icon.

I wanted to throw the keyboard across the room. Nox was laughing at me, probably figuring out exactly what was going on after having watched me work for the past seven months. Finally, after a few minutes, the mouse moved again. I let out a breath of relief, but then cussed under my breath.

The desktop picture was gone. So were all the icons. I clicked into the menu and tried to poke around for files. Programs. Anything.

But it was gone. The hard drive had been wiped completely. All that was left was the operating system.

It took all of my self control not to chuck the monitor at Nox who was still laughing behind me. I hadn't even gotten the chance to check anything else on this computer. I had seen that folder and fell for the bait hook, line, and sinker. I didn't think Light would have any skill with computers, not like that. It was simple enough to make a home brewed virus to wipe out a hard drive, this was true... but for him to think to do that... that he would know simply deleting files wasn't enough...

I started to work at restoring what I could of the hard drive. But the virus had been thorough. It was picked clean. It was sloppy in its execution, of course. I personally preferred to have fun with it when I cleaned out a computer. I would display a message or video or music while the virus did its job. It was a good way to distract someone until it was too late to save their files. But Light had simply frozen me.

Watari and Ukita eventually came to check on me. I never felt so humiliated as I did then, admitting my own failure.

"I got cocky," I muttered. "It was a rookie mistake, to be honest. I didn't expect Light to think to put that."

"We all make mistakes, Miss Forner," Watari assured me. "It is all right."

His words were soft and gentle. I knew he wasn't angry with me, but I had a feeling L would be.

"What exactly happened?" Ukita asked, frowning.

"He had a homemade virus set up as a shortcut on his desktop," I explained. "Honestly, just about anyone can do it if they have basic computer knowledge. Or access to YouTube. It wasn't anything fancy, so I don't think Light has too much computer skills- I mean, not like I do."

I looked back at the computer, biting my lip. Light would know for sure someone was in his room now. Ideally, we could have his father take the fall for it. But explaining how Yagami got the password would be impossible. I really screwed the pooch on this one.

"Electrical malfunction it is, then..." I breathed.

"Pardon?" Watari said.

I looked back at the old man with a grin. "That's how I can cover my tracks. At least as much as I can. A malfunction with the wiring his computer is plugged into. It caused the tower to fry."

"That would be destruction of property," Ukita pointed out.

I shrugged. "I'll reimburse Yagami for the cost to replace it."

"And you know how to do this safely?" Watari inquired.

I was already crawling under the desk to find the plug. "Safety is overrated," I said. "Shit it's in a power strip. Looks like I'm paying for that monitor and fan too."

Water would be the easiest thing to use, but that would leave some dampness I couldn't leave behind as evidence. Luckily, I carried some things for emergencies like this. I reached into my satchel and pulled out a small bundle of 3 AA batteries with a tiny pad on the end of it with some wiring sticking out.

"Cool, no surge protector," I murmured. "Gotta love Japan and its lack of grounding pins."

"Miss Forner, may I ask what that is?" Watari said.

"A shocker," I said. "Kind of. I made it out of parts from disposable cameras. It can give about 920 volts. Should be enough."

"Wait, are you crazy?!" Ukita cried. "You could get hurt! Or start a fire!"

"Gotta take risks in this line of work, Uki," I said.

"Did you just give me a nickname?" Ukita demanded.

"I'd say you could call me Ni, but I would just laugh every time thinking about Monty Python," I said.

"I don't know what that is," Ukita grumbled.

"Some of the best things to come out of England," I told him. "Aside from Ryu, I suppose."

I reached into my bag and found my rubber gloves. Time to be careful. They were blue and typically meant to be used cleaning dishes. I pulled them on and gripped the shocker again. One of the plugs in the power strip was empty. I reached out, closed my eyes, and tapped the shocker against it.

POP!

I screamed a little and jolted backward. I didn't get electrocuted, thank goodness, but the sound startled me enough. I could smell plastic burning. I looked down to see that there was a decent scorch mark on the power strip. The computer had also shut down. Part of the smell was coming from the tower. Good deal. I'd rendered Light's computer useless.

"I thought we weren't killing computers," Nox teased.

I ignored him. "Ta-da!" I said, gesturing to my work.

Watari let out a small breath. "Officer Ukita was correct, that could have caused a fire, Miss Forner."

"Oh please, it's fine," I said, waving him off. "Light won't know any better. Power strips fry all the time."

The men came in and set up the wire taps and cameras. Once they were done, I replaced the graphite stick in the middle door hinge when I closed the door behind me, hoping it was the right one.

Outside, Ukita leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette, his face tight with anxiety.

"You okay, Uki?" I asked him.

He shot me a look for using his new nickname again, but then he let out a long sigh, a wave of cigarette smoke accompanying it. "I just can't imagine what we'll do if it turns out one of these people are Kira," he said.

"Regardless, we'll handle it," I assured him. "You're tougher than you give yourself credit for, Uki. I think, if it does turn out to be any of these people, you'll take it in stride."

"But what would that say about me?" Ukita demanded. "Is that what you did when it turned out it was your friend behind that drug ring? You just took it in stride like some cold fish?"

I leaned against the wall next to him. "Of course not. I was both incredibly pissed and devastated at the same time. I had to take an hour to just calm down before I could start moving forward to get him arrested. Punched a pillow for a long while, screamed into it to. We're human. We get attached to others and we feel things that can both build us up and tear us down. But everyone still has a foundation. Something that will always be there, despite what hits them."

I turned my head to smile at the officer.

"I think you have a pretty good foundation, Uki."

Ukita shook his head. "You barely know me, how can you say that?"

"It's the same for all of you in the task force," I said. "Even dickbag Aizawa. You guys are taking a huge risk in trying to chase down Kira. Out of your entire police force, you are the only ones who stepped forward and acknowledged what Kira is doing is wrong and he needs to be stopped. That's huge, Uki. You guys are something else."

Ukita took a drag from his cigarette. The tip of it glowed crimson, a small trail of smoke wriggled up from it. "I suppose that the same can be said for you, then," he finally replied. "I know you and Ryuzaki go back. But still, you came forward and showed yourself to people for the first time in your career. You're putting your life on the line to stop Kira, just like us. I'm sure there's a ton of other stuff a young lady like yourself could be doing with her life. But this is what you chose. Gotta admit, I'm impressed."

Flattered by his words, I shrugged off the wall and tried to fight away my blush. "Thanks, Uki. That's really nice of you to say."

"Just try to find something less insane to do after this," Ukita said. "Maybe try to convince Ryuzaki to do the same. You're both so young. You should be living your lives."

"We are," I said. "In the best way we can. We're helping others. Saving lives." I smiled. "Just like you."

Ukita dropped his cigarette and stamped it out. "Let's get out of this cold before we get too much more sentimental. You're an odd one, Nina."

"Thanks, I do my best!" I gave him a thumbs up before turning and heading toward Watari just as he exited the building.

After waving goodbye to Ukita, Watari and I got back into the car and began heading back to the hotel. Talking to Ukita had been nice, and I appreciated his words. But after all I'd been through, I honestly couldn't imagine myself doing anything else with my life. And I doubted L could either.

L... I had a feeling he wasn't going to be pleased with me about the computer I fried—but how was I supposed to know Light would be so crafty? And besides... if anything, it just increased my suspicion of him. Why have that kind of folder on his computer?

I would have to keep my eye on Light during the next week. Perhaps he would slip up while on camera. I glanced at Nox. All it would take would be for him to talk to his own Shinigami. It would confirm it for me at least that he was Kira.

 _Light Yagami..._ I frowned. If he was Kira, this was going to be tricky.


	8. It's Not Flirting

_L_

Jack's room was rather messy.

L looked upon the unmade bed and the scattered clothes. They all appeared clean; he guessed she had trouble figuring out what to wear this morning. She'd taken her laptop with her, so he didn't have that to go through, but L was determined to find _something_.

He started with her suitcase. She notice if someone went through her things if he wasn't careful, so he delicately picked through the items. It was full of her clothes and some odd trinkets. He found a small cell phone charm with a green dragon on it—something from an anime, he assumed. There was a box of tea bags: black Assam leaves, the kind used for royal milk tea. There was a small five-tailed fox plushie that was incredibly soft to the touch. Then of course there was a special edition of Sir Arthur Conan O'Doyle's entire collection of Sherlock Holmes. It looked incredibly well worn, proving Jack had read it countless times.

After carefully returning everything the way he found it, L moved on to the bathroom. There was a bag full of cosmetics and hygiene supplies such as tooth paste and floss. She had a small can of hair gel, the kind that didn't make hair look crusty or greasy. There was peach shampoo and conditioner near the walk-in shower and a towel on the floor. Beneath the sink was a box of pads for her monthly cycle along with some spare toilet paper rolls.

L stepped back out into her room again with a frown. He was so certain he'd find something of use—something to tell him more about Jack and what she was hiding. He went and looked over her bedside table. There was her iPod charging—the blue one; she used a pink one during the day. He picked it up and looked through the songs.

Enya, Death Cab for Cutie, some classical pieces, an instrumental band called Two Steps From Hell... a handful of soundtracks from movies and games—nothing he was too familiar with. As he was setting it back down, something caught his eye.

There was something orange under the pillow on her bed. L reached out and gripped something cylindrical and plastic. It rattled as he moved it toward his face.

Pills.

L frowned and looked over the label. It was something for sleep. Sleep and... it was an anti-psychotic.

What was this? The name on the bottle had been blacked out by a sharpie. As well as the doctor's name who prescribed it and where it was filled. All that was visible was the name of the medication, the dosage per pill, and instructions on when to take and for what it was taken for. No wonder Jack slept so heavy.

L replaced the pills under the pillow and wondered why Jack kept this from him. Insomnia wasn't too uncommon—it could be she only took that medication for sleep and the anti-psychotic was just something else the pill could treat for. He wanted to ask her, but he knew she'd be livid if she knew he'd been in her things. Perhaps in time she would feel comfortable enough to tell him about it herself.

He left the room and went about going through some files. He'd instructed Watari to text him when they were on their way back. Once he received the message, he got to his feet and made some royal milk tea for Jack and some more coffee for himself.

When Jack came into the room, she looked furious. L stepped out from the kitchen, extending a cup out to her.

"You don't look pleased," he noted.

Jack took the cup and looked down at it. Her brow was furrowed, her jaw clenched. Watari came in behind her, holding a small box that would allow them to set up the surveillance feed to their TVs. He didn't say anything.

"I messed up," Jack finally confessed in a mumble.

L perked a brow as she turned and went over to the couch. She set her cup down a little too forcefully and some tea spilled out. She didn't seem to care. Jack sat on the couch, kicked off her shoes and tore off her wig. Her blue hair was a matted mess beneath.

"What do you mean?" L asked.

Of course he had his concerns about Jack being too brash and eager to rush in. He hoped she hadn't done anything too idiotic to the point of jeopardizing their whole case.

"It was with Light Yagami's computer. In his room," Jack said. "There was a file on the desktop that caught my attention. It was called 'DO NOT DISTURB' in all caps, mind you. Of course I was curious! I didn't think..." She shook her head. "I underestimated him."

"What happened?" L perched on the seat next to her. She only glanced at him before taking a drink from her cup. She then shook her head yet again.

"It was a home-brewed virus. When I opened the folder, it unleashed it. Wiped the hard drive. I had to use a shocker to fry the power strip it was plugged into in order to cover my tracks. With any luck, he'll see it as the power strip malfunctioning. It can happen pretty easily, to be honest."

L let out a breath. Yes, Jack had messed up, but this wasn't nearly as bad as he was expecting. Plus, she'd been thorough enough to try and make the computer's compromise seem like an accident.

"While I will urge you to exercise caution in the future, it seems you did everything you could to right this mistake," L murmured.

Jack turned her head to face him. "You're not mad?"

"I'm disappointed," L told her. "I took you to be smarter than this."

Jack looked away, glaring into her cup. "I... I'm sorry. I usually am. I just..." She closed her eyes.

L thought about the pills he found under her pillow. He chewed his tongue, wondering if now would be a good time to bring it up after all. If she got angry with him, he can use her guilt about this slip up to potentially gain some leeway.

"Is there something causing you to be more of a liability to this case than you already are?" L finally asked, electing to play it safe just in case.

Jack glanced at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The heavy sleeping, this slip up. Is something distracting you?" L held her gaze evenly.

Jack leaned back. Her mouth opened, her lips pulling in to show an expression of an angry mother who caught her child in a lie.

"You were in my room." Her words were quiet and matter-of-fact. It wasn't an accusation so much as it was a simple statement.

L broke their gaze, getting to his feet and padding back over to the kitchen for his coffee.

"L!" Jack called after him.

"I wanted to know what you were hiding," L replied calmly. He poured his coffee and took the cup back toward her. The sugars were on the table.

As he sat back down and reached for some cubes, Jack's hand appeared over the bowl, blocking him from the sweet substance. He looked at her, feeling his jaw tighten.

"Jack—" he began.

"You don't trust me?" Jack demanded.

"I trust you," L said. "I just know that there is something you're keeping from me. Something that you feel is important, but not so important that I know about it. Or perhaps you feel you can't tell me."

"So what exactly did you find in my room?" Jack's hand did not move. Her green eyes were narrowed to slits.

"Not what I expected," L admitted. "And not entirely what I was looking for. How long have you been on the medication?"

Oddly enough, Jack's posture seemed to relax. Her gaze flitted with ease and she slowly moved her hand back. L snatched up six cubes before she decided to block him off again.

"Almost a year now," she replied, voice low and soft. "Unfortunately, I can't sleep without it. They had to try several different kinds before they found one strong enough to knock me out."

"I see," L said. "You could have told me."

"It's not important," Jack retorted. "It doesn't have anything to do with the case. And on the up side, I'll be able to sit through watching the cameras we set up for the whole week straight if needed."

"You shouldn't stay up for that long," L pointed out.

"Neither should you," Jack said. "I think you and I have something in common with the sleep thing. The difference is that I acknowledged the problem and got help."

She reached forward at that point, hand coming toward L's face. He nearly pulled away out of instinct, but he knew the only person he could trust more than Jack was Watari. So he remained still and she gripped his cheek, rubbing a thumb beneath his eye. Her hands were icy, but soft.

"These circles might be edgy and attractive to me, but most people would find you much more handsome without them," Jack said.

L turned his face away and Jack's hand fell. His skin felt cold where it had been. "I get the necessary amount of sleep to function as much as I need to," he said.

"It'll catch up, L," Jack said. "It's not healthy. Neither is all the sugar. And let's not get me started on the nail biting again."

"I am capable of making my own decisions about my own body," L replied coolly, sipping his coffee. "So tell me, other than falling prey to a trap of Light Yagami's, how was your hacking today?"

"Nothing of interest, unless you want to hear about a weird foot fetish," Jack said. She leaned back into the couch again, bringing her knees up to her chest. "The only odd thing was Light's virus folder. It was the first thing I clicked... so I didn't manage to look at anything else. And recovery was useless. The virus was very thorough, unfortunately for me."

"Do you feel it takes a lot of skill to make such a virus?" L queried.

Jack shook her head. "Not really. And it was sloppy. If—and I'm saying _if_ Light was Kira—he doesn't know enough about computers to be too dangerous with them. Kira is the type to gloat and flaunt. He would have had a message or something play while the virus worked. This one just froze up the screen and kept me from doing anything. It was quick and efficient."

"Perhaps Kira prefers to be quick and efficient when it comes to this," L suggested. "It gets the job done, doesn't it?"

"That's where you and Kira differ, L," Jack said. "Yes, you are both childish and hate to lose, as you said. But Kira is the type that likes to scream to the world that he _can't_ lose. You admit defeat in order to become better and more prepared, to pool more resources and assistance. You strive to continuously improve in order to win the war. Kira... he's just sprinting forward to win each battle. He isn't thinking about the long run, I don't think. He's... he's writing by the seat of his pants."

L raised his brows at her.

Jack shrugged. "I'll give you a truth. This is a freebie, so you better be grateful. My mother was a writer. She said that there are two ways to write: by plotting and planning and by the seat of your pants. That's when you just do things as you go. The scenes she would write out would only be known to her when she wrote them, and she had no end game. My mother always told me sometimes writing by the seat of your pants is good. Keeps the writer on their toes, and the readers too. After all, if a writer didn't see something coming, how would the reader?"

Jack took a long drink from her cup. She slowly set it on the counter and then hugged her knees.

"But it could also very easily lead a writer to a book's death. She called it writing herself into a corner. Without any planning or plotting, some things could be missed. Either she would put her characters in an impossible situation, or she would simply run out of places to go in the story." Jack met L's eyes. "You're capable of writing by the seat of your pants, L, but you're also a very effective plotter. I think Kira is only the former. And that will doom him in the end."

L nodded slowly. She had a soft expression while she was talking about her mother. L was curious to ask more, but he knew that Jack had indeed given him a free truth. He shouldn't push it.

"I suppose that's a compliment for me," L said. "So thank you."

"Yeah, sure," Jack replied. "Well then... shall we tune in to this new reality TV show I've heard a lot about? I hear there's a chance that one of the cast is a serial killer."

"Sounds riveting," L said. "Let me order some food. Any requests?"

"Shark fin soup."

"That's... a bit steep."

"Japan's one of the last places you can get it!" Jack said. "I'm curious!"

"Curiosity is what made you ruin Light Yagami's computer before you could search it for evidence," L reminded her coolly.

Jack pouted. "Fine. I'll have some ramen."

* * *

 _Jack_

Watching the TVs was dull work. Nothing of interest was happening in either household—though I did grow curious when Light Yagami returned home before anyone else.

He was a handsome boy, I'd give him that. His hair was the shade of caramel and his physique was lean and tall. He dressed up nicely too; probably just got home from school. Light called out for his family, which received no response. He went up to his room, and only paused at his door for a heartbeat.

I silently cursed. He must know something is up. Did I replace the graphite stick in the wrong hinge?

Once in the room, Light tossed his bag on his bed and approached his computer. He attempted to turn it on and frowned when it didn't respond. He leaned down, inspecting the plug. I heard him cuss softly through the audio.

"You've got to be kidding me," he breathed. "The power strip malfunctioned...?"

"I already reimbursed Chief Yagami, for the record," I told L.

He waved me off, intent on watching Light. I was too. If Light was Kira, he might very well think the Death Note won't seem suspicious to anyone if it was laid out in his room. He'd have to keep anyone from touching it, of course, but what was the point in hiding it when he was alone? Even if he knew there were cameras, there was a chance he wouldn't think to hide it. If I caught even the smallest glimpse of it... L might not know, but I would. That would be enough.

However, to both my disappointment and L's, for the next hour we watched Light give up on his computer and go to studying on his bed. When I checked on the other household, nothing of interest was happening there either. I eventually got up and made some royal milk tea and some coffee for L—he didn't seem to like the tea as consistently as I did. I made sure to bring him plenty of sugar cubes.

The detective thanked me with a nod and went back to eyeing the screens. Eventually, the rest of the Yagami family came home. They sat down for dinner. For all intents and purposes, they seemed perfectly normal. Sachiko Yagami, his mother, was kind and caring as any mother should be. His younger sister, Sayu, was sweet and teased Light just as any sibling would be expected to.

Incidentally, she was the one to finish eating first and went into the adjoined living room to watch TV. The news was on when she powered it up. The announcer was talking about the 1500 FBI agents the US was sending after Kira.

"That's nice timing," I noted.

"Yes, isn't it?" L replied calmly.

I cast him a small smirk. Ever the clever detective, it seemed.

"Wow!" Sayu said, staring at the TV. "Dad, looks like you'll have a lot of backup!"

"It does, doesn't it?" Yagami said, looking over at the TV with raised brows. He was a decent actor, I'd give him that.

"I don't think so," Light said suddenly.

The other family members looked to him curiously.

"It's a rouse, don't you think?" Light asked. "L is trying to scare Kira. It's almost laughable, to be honest. I don't know what he's thinking. It won't trick someone like Kira. If you ask me, he needs to find other means to try and provoke Kira."

"Ouch," I muttered.

L continued to stare at the screen, his expression unreadable as stone. I frowned and leaned back. Why would Light say something like that? If he was Kira, wouldn't he realize how obvious it made him sound? But perhaps that was the point. If he was Kira, and wanted to throw us off, wouldn't he do something that we would believe Kira would never do?

Reverse psychology to the max.

"Oh, Dad, I almost forgot," Light said. "My power strip upstairs malfunctioned. It seems to have fried my computer and... everything else plugged into it."

"Oh no," Yagami frowned at him. "I'm sorry to hear that son. Listen, I'll get a replacement tomorrow. Or, if you'd like, I can leave you with some money and you can go pick one out."

"That would be great, thanks." Light smiled at his father.

If Light was Kira... the fact that he was putting his family through this shattered my heart. He had to realize- some part of him had to know what he was doing was wrong, didn't it?

Later, we watched Light go back up to his room with a bag of chips. He did school work for a few hours, then he went to bed. I let out a long sigh and glanced at the detective.

"You should sleep," I told him.

"I am quite fine, thank you," L said.

I shook my head. "I can wake you if anything weird happens."

"I'd prefer to watch myself."

"These things record, you know."

"There is a chance what you find weird and what I find weird might be different things."

"I suppose. But still. You won't be able to do much if you don't sleep."

"I will. But not now."

I stared at him for a moment. Then I got to my feet and started walking away. He turned to watch me.

"Are you going to bed?" he asked me.

"Nope, I'm making more tea and coffee. We want to be alert, don't we?" I said as I walked toward the kitchen.

"You don't have to stay up with me," L said.

"It's like you said, L." I paused by the kitchen entrance and smiled at him. "What you find weird and what I find weird might be different things."

I set to making more tea and coffee. What I said was true. I couldn't risk not seeing the Death Note. L might just think it to be another notebook. But that would be all I would need to know who Kira was.

Nox loomed in the corner of the kitchen. "I can't see how you're not bored to tears," he said to me.

I glanced at him and shrugged. To be honest, I was, but that wasn't going to stop me.

"You're not going to take your medicine?" he asked. "Doesn't that seem a touch risky?"

"I already see things other people can't anyway," I whispered back.

"What was that?" L called from the other room.

"Ah, I couldn't remember where I put the coffee grounds," I responded. "No worries, found 'em."

L went back to staring at the screens.

"Best be careful, Jack," Nox said. "Talking to me when he's so close is a pretty stupid move. I don't want him getting any ideas."

" _Bite me_ ," I mouthed to the Shinigami with my back turned to L.

Nox merely laughed.

Over the next week, L and I kept a next to constant eye on the screens. Only being human, both of us eventually slept in small shifts. Without my meds, mine were only two hours at a time at the most. L's were about the same. Watari eventually made both of us take a longer break, telling us he'd watch the screens for a while. We both slept a bit longer during that time. I didn't even get to work out as much as usual.

All in all, the footage gave us next to nothing. Light kept studying, the other members of the Yagami family did nothing of note, and the other household was even more dull; unless one counted the alone time the father sometimes took in his bedroom when his wife wasn't home. L and I both had to look away, but he was stone-faced while I laughed heartedly.

Worse of all, the deaths of criminals continued. There wasn't a single hiccup in Kira's schedule of homicide. It made no sense. Sure, Light wrote in his normal notebook each night, but that was just it- it was a _normal_ notebook. The cameras revealed him to always be writing about schoolwork; math homework and English papers, some history even. At one point he locked himself in his room and looked at nude magazines. It almost seemed to deliberate. He also would take out the journal I'd seen and write in it occasionally.

If he was Kira, how was he getting names into his Death Note? At first, I thought perhaps he had written them down in preparation, writing out their death conditions to happen in the future. But then some criminals whose names and faces were broadcast after the cameras were set died. It was infuriating. Light was our best bet and yet...

The cameras and bugs were taken out after the weeks end. I was a little peeved considering we made no progress. Could it be Light wasn't Kira after all? Was I just so desperate to grasp at the first suspicious person? I had kept a careful eye on Nox throughout our surveillance escapade. But he didn't seem to show any sign of seeing another Shinigami. He continued to tease and berate me as usual.

We were back a square one, and I'd never been so frustrated. If I hadn't been so moronic when on Light's computer, we could possibly already have evidence. But still... how was it he kept writing down names of criminals while we watched him day and night?

When they'd met with the rest of the task force and L ordered to have the cameras and wire taps removed, he had been adamant that something had to have happened in one of the households.

"Just because we didn't see it doesn't mean something suspicious didn't occur," he had said.

Of course the officers thought his words were insane, since we hadn't found anything of use on the surveillance. But I could tell L was certain. He still had suspicions. And not of just anyone in those homes, but of one particular member: Light Yagami.

"What makes you so certain?" I asked him when the officers left. "We didn't see anything."

"Kira is intelligent and cunning, we already knew that," L said. "You told me there were measures he'd put on his door to show if someone had entered or not. How do you know that paper and the graphite stick were the only things? Not to mention the power strip..."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm already fully aware I screwed up on that, okay? But still... even if he knew we were watching... how did he keep killing people?"

"Without knowing the nature of how Kira kills in the first place, I can't answer that question," L said. "You are the one who said that it could be something supernatural."

I nodded slowly. "Yes. But still, it must cost Kira some effort to do it. Some effort we would have seen evidence of."

I racked my brain. If L was so certain, perhaps there was something. Some way I missed it. I didn't want L chasing something fruitless when the real Kira was out there. But... maybe...

Kira needed a hand to hold a pen, to write names. Sometimes, once Light's computer was replaced, he had watched the news while doing school work.

"Can I see the list of deaths again?" I asked L.

He gave it to me. We had compiled a list of those that died during the time the cameras were up. I had also taken it upon myself to write down the names of the criminals that had been shown on the news we had seen Light watch. Several names matched up. There were some names of the death list we'd compiled that weren't on the list of criminals we knew Light saw, but all the ones he did see were dead.

I set the papers down, letting the beat of my music consume me for a moment. It helped me focus, helped me ground myself down. I exhaled slowly. His hands. Was there ever a moment I didn't see both of his hands?

Chips.

 _The fucking potato chips._

Light had always had a bag when he went up to study. Sayu even teased him once, saying he was going to get fat. He'd waved her off. But she'd said it like Light eating so many chips wasn't an ordinary thing. Light would study with the bag on his desk, reaching in and grabbing a chip every now and then. During that time, his hand was blocked from view. And Light would glance down now and then to snag the best slice of dried potato.

It was a long shot. A huge one. Especially since some criminals died that we didn't see Light witness on the news. But who was to say he didn't see them broadcast outside his home? But it was all I needed to keep going with the theory, as small as it was, that Light could very well be Kira.

"I need to try something new," L said. It was a couple of days since we had the cameras removed. It was strange. I thought I was bored watching the screens. But now without them to monitor, I was losing my mind for lack of activity. "As of now, Light Yagami is my only likely suspect. I need to get closer to him."

"Closer?" I raised my brows at him.

We were both seated on the couch. It was a bit strange, but L seemed to have gotten used to sitting close to me while we watched the TVs. Now, even though his favored chair was available since we didn't have to hover over the same screens, he still sat by me. I didn't mind. Oddly enough, there were only certain people I would let stay so physically near without being uncomfortable, and L had somehow fallen into that category. Perhaps because I knew him from before, from the Detective Wars case. It wasn't like we were touching, but the four inches of space between us didn't fill me with anxiety like it would if L had been... anyone else, really.

"Get to know him on a personal level," L explained. "Get him to admit to me that he is Kira."

"You think just becoming 'friends' with him will make him admit he's Kira?" I laughed a little. "Come on, L. You're... you. You're the guy that swore to hunt Kira down and defeat him. Even if by some weird happenstance that he starts to believe you are his friend, he'd never admit being Kira."

"But you think he is Kira too, don't you?" L pressed. "He's the most likely one."

"Out of the people we are aware of?" I said. "Yes, he's the most likely one. But L, if you're seriously thinking about showing him your face... I'd have to advise against it."

Per my observations, I didn't think Kira had the Shinigami Eyes, but I still didn't want to risk that. All Kira would need to see is at least 60% of L's face and... done. He'd know the detective's name. He'd write it in the Death Note and L would be gone.

My chest tightened at the mere thought, more than I expected it to.

"He doesn't know my name," L said. "He needs both to be a threat. I need to be on his level. Doing all of this from afar is not working."

"Send me first," I said before even realizing the words were tumbling out of my mouth and weren't just thoughts. "L, if he kills you, this case is lost. I'm-"

"Just as valuable to the case," L pointed out. "Hacking isn't your only skill, Jack. You're the only other one who believes it still could be Light despite our fruitless venture with the cameras. You are able to keep up with me when I brainstorm with the task force."

I was touched by his words, that was for sure, but it still didn't put me at ease. Me going out after Light could prove useful. If Nox slipped up, it could be proof that there was another Shinigami following Light around. I was more willing to risk myself than L, and oddly enough, it wasn't just for the sake of the case. I found myself considering where I would be if the odd detective was dead. I didn't like the idea of a world without his quirks. He'd helped far too many people to just be offed by someone writing his name on a page.

"I have an idea already, regardless," L went on. "I want you to tell me what you think."

"Okay..." I said slowly.

L readjusted himself on the couch to better face me, though he still perched there like a bird. His dark eyes were sharp and focused.

"Light will be doing the entrance exams for To-Oh Academy soon. With his intelligence, I'm certain he will place the top of the class. I mean to take the exams with him."

"The exams?" I echoed. "That seems a bit odd, why approach him there?"

"At first, I can pose as a student," L said. "I will be competing with him in a way as well. I assume I will either win or we will tie, since there is a maximum for points that are achievable. It will showcase that I have just as much knowledge as he does."

"You mean to intimidate him?" I asked. "Won't he instantly know you're L if you just show up and wipe the floor with those tests? Especially if you're trying to be his friend at the same time. This random guy just showing up out of the blue... it seems too obvious."

He merely stared at me.

I let out a long breath. "But that's the point... you want him to know you're L. You want to shock him, get him to slip up in his surprise. He'd never expect you to just show up and confront him face to face. This is assuming he is Kira, of course."

L nodded. "I would invite you to test with me, but I believe you're still getting the hang of reading Katakana."

"Yeah, that might put a damper on it," I agreed. "Plus school is terribly dull. Too many rules."

L snorted a bit. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised you would say that."

I grinned and then bit my lip. "Let me go with you," I said.

L frowned. "Didn't you just say-"

"I don't want to take the stupid tests," I said. "I want to just accompany you to the building, drop you off and pick you up. I think I might just learn something from meeting Light face to face."

If I could see Light up close, there was a chance Nox would give away that he was being followed by another Shinigami. Of course there was a few ups and downs to this idea. On the up side, because I had a Death Note of my own, my name and lifespan would not appear to anyone with the Shinigami Eyes. So I was free from them writing my name down and killing me. On the down side, if they did have the Shinigami Eyes, they would notice my lack of name and know I had a Death Note of my own. Not to mention, there was always the chance that Kira had a Shinigami that was a bit more forthcoming with information than Nox was. His Shinigami could tell him that Nox was with me.

I supposed that even if Kira knew I had a Death Note, it might go in my favor. It would put him on edge, like L wanted to accomplish. If I had one, I knew how they worked. I had a better chance at stopping him, and with me working alongside L, well... Kira should be as good as screwed. But given how crafty he'd been so far... and if it was Light... Light was a smart kid, to say the least.

"Don't you think it's a bit risky?" L asked.

"You're showing him you're face!" I accused. "It's not like I'm giving him my real name. He'll know me as Nina Forner. Girlfriend to the incredibly intelligent Ryuzaki."

"I'm thinking of going by Hideki Ryuga for the tests," L said.

"Isn't he someone famous around here?"

"An obviously fake alias will work toward my goal in this case. And, should Light be Kira and he attempts to use that name to kill me, there is a good chance he will accidentally picture the celebrity in his head."

I tapped my nose. "All right. Well, I'm still going with you."

L let out a small breath through his nostrils. "I don't see how it would help us. I want to eventually bring Light into the task force, have him as close as possible in order to catch him. You would meet him eventually."

L had a point, but the sooner I met Light face to face, the sooner I might be able to get Nox to slip up. I'd already tried asking the Shinigami if he saw another of his kind with Light, but per usual he refused to divulge anything.

"Here's the deal, Jack," he had said. "You can ask me about anyone, even you're best buddy L, and I will give you the same response every time." Then he gave an over exaggerated shrug and laughed heartedly.

He was a prick to the max, that was for certain.

"Two is better than one! Sherlock and Watson proved that!" I told L. "Let him panic about which of us could be L. Let him see how there's two of us and start to feel outnumbered, if just a little."

L's eyes darted over me. My entire being. It was like when we first saw each other, how he seemed to assess my all with one flicker of eye movement. I felt like that dark gaze of his held me hostage. He knew- he knew I was trying to come with for a reason I wasn't fully divulging. He couldn't figure it out, but he definitely knew.

After a moment that seemed to hang between us forever, L looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. "We will have to work on our acting."

I wanted to sigh in relief, but I resisted. I grinned at him and leaned forward. "Are you wanting permission to be close to me, oh great detective?"

L shot a hard glance my way. "What exactly are you trying to imply, Jack?"

"Teasing you is my favorite pass time, I thought you realized this by now," I pointed out.

L's mouth twitched. It wasn't a scowl, but it was pretty close. It didn't last long. "This is hardly the time for teasing. This is serious, we need to work out how to make our couple story believable."

"If the entire point is to make Light think you're L to put him on edge, then why put on such a good show?" I tilted my head to the side.

"You said it yourself. Confusing him will be a good first step," L said. "I want Light to know I'm taking the exams, I want him to notice me. Not who I am, not at first. But definitely be aware someone is watching him. But if I put up a ploy where we're a couple, and am going under this false name, it can make him think I'm still trying to be under cover. Will he think I'm L? Certainly. But he won't know for certain, and that will drive him mad. Then, with you along, he will start to wonder if perhaps you are L, if perhaps I'm just a lackey. He'll be so busy bouncing around all the possibilities, he very well could slip up."

L then smiled. It was the same smile I'd seen him give when he told the officers justice would prevail. The one full of daring and heat that threw life into his normally pale and drawn face. If he smiled like that more often, he'd be even more handsome.

"Especially when I formally introduce myself at the ceremonies," he finished.

I raised my brows. "You're going to introduce yourself? As L? Not this Hideki, not Ryuzaki?"

L nodded. "It'll rattle him for certain. And when I tell him I suspect he is Kira, that will rattle him even more."

It was insane. The strategy was basically showing Light our hand. Was this truly wise? However, when I really thought about it, I realized the detective was right. It would certainly be a shocker. Throwing such a sudden accusation out, especially after introducing himself as L, that would be like two punches to the gut. The real question was how fast Light would be able to catch his breath, assuming he was Kira.

"There's this cliche saying of that might just be crazy enough to work, and I feel it's appropriate here," I said.

L shrugged. "With Light being our only viable suspect at the moment, I feel this is important to follow. If he is Kira, we need to expose him and put and end to this. If he isn't... well, Light is intelligent. Having him on the task force would help us find the real Kira."

"It's a huge risk to take on a _maybe_ , L," I said. "Are you really sure you want to do this?"

L leaned forward, his balance all in the balls of his feet, toes curled around the edge of the couch cushion. "This is the most complex case I've ever worked. Kira has already killed far more people than any known serial killer is all of written history. We need to put a stop to him."

I knew L wasn't going to back down. He was stubborn. And despite how much I knew he did want to do the right thing, how he wanted to stop this madness, I also knew part of it was the sheer will to win. To win this war of who had the right to call themselves Justice. Kira, who murders all these criminals and any who go to stand in his way. Or L. The upholder of the written law, the one who does things by the book, who saw this phenomenon and realized whoever was doing it wasn't going to stop at criminals. Not when someone tried to oppose him.

Masayoshi. It was the Japanese word for justice. It's what L used as his user name on the IM we communicated with during the Detective Wars case. I know L prided himself on being someone to bring justice to this world. And when someone as seemingly twisted as Kira showed up and made to claim that title, it infuriated my detective friend.

Friend? Yes, I suppose somewhere along the road, though I didn't know when, L had become my friend.

"All right, I see there's no dissuading you," I said with a sigh. "So. Let's get our act down, shall we?"

L readjusted in his seat. He was still sitting with his legs bent and balancing on his toes, but he was facing me fully now. His hands were on his knees and he looked at me from over them. "Where would you like to start?"

What kind of question was that? One I certainly didn't have an answer for. I was comfortable with L being relatively close and I had admitted to myself that he was my friend. But this kind of thing was something I hadn't done is a long, long time, and even when I did do it, I was horrible at it. Granted, my acting skills had improved, but...

"Well, let's... shit, I don't know," I admitted. "Okay, what do most couples do? They hold hands and they... sort of lean on each other."

My cheeks felt a touch warm. Damn it, why were they warm?

"Is this making you uncomfortable?" L asked.

"No way!" I declared. "I'm a pro at making up stories and acting them out, okay? I had to get around a lot of places without anyone knowing who I was."

"Usually that's alone isn't it?"

"It's always alone, but that's besides the point," I retorted.

"Perhaps we should work on walking while holding hands," L suggested. "Since we were so... average at it before."

"Average is a kind way to put it," I grunted.

L turned and got off the couch. He now loomed over me, offering out his pale hand. I stared at his long fingers for a moment. His hands were soft and delicate things. I noticed only a few callouses—ones that were on the middle finger of his right hand where a pen or pencil might rest. I slowly reached out and took it. It was warm in my consistently cold hand.

His hand wrapped around mine. While our palms were probably around the same size, L's fingers were longer. Gently, he tugged me to my feet. I stood, feeling embarrassed.

"What, are we going to take laps around the room?" I asked.

"To start, yes."

"This is silly."

"This is necessary."

L led me along. Our fingers twined together and we started walking. It was oddly stilted. L's posture made it a bit off, and he kept his other hand in his pocket. Meanwhile I was stiff as a board. My knees didn't seem to want to bend.

"Stand up a bit straighter," I told him. "And take your hand out of your pocket, you look like you're bored to be with me. I may be a lot of things, but I'm sure as hell not boring."

L snorted softly, but he listened. He straightened up a touch and removed his other hand from his jeans, letting that arm swing at his side. Meanwhile I forced my knees to bend and to act more natural.

 _Just walk like you're not touching anyone right now,_ I told myself. _Like you're just pulling along a cart at my side. A very strange, oddly charming cart._

The detective started taking us between the couch and the coffee table, through the kitchen, up and down the hall. We eventually got used to moving around and between obstacles while still remaining linked. At one point we walked with the couch between us, our hands up above it, still twined, though our arms were stretched out all the way they could go and we had to lean toward one another. I nearly tripped and I swore I saw a ghost of a smirk on L's face.

Nox teased me all the while from the corner of the room.

"Good to see this is how you catch Kira," he said. "Flirting with this oddball of a detective."

"It's not flirting," I said aloud before I realized it.

L glanced at me, pausing in our walk. He raised a brow.

"Er," I stammered. "I... I mean, just making sure you know... that all this..." I raised our linked hands. "It's not flirting. Just to be clear."

"I didn't think it was," L replied.

His voice was flat and unfeeling. I felt an odd twinge in my gut as I looked the detective over.

"I think we have this hand holding thing down," I said. "So now what?"

"You said that couples lean on one another," L pointed out.

I nodded, suddenly realizing how close he was. How our hands were still attached.

"Should we practice that?" L's gaze searched my face.

I don't know what the tightness in my chest was. It was something akin to how I got when in crowded places or when I had to go those few seconds of silence while switching out my iPods. However, there was something else too it. It wasn't as... bad. Still uncomfortable, but not _bad_. Part of me wanted to tell L no, this was enough for now, but... we had to get this act down didn't we? It was important to the case.

"All right," I said. "Here, let's go to the wall."

I pulled him along. Our hands were now a bit sweaty from holding one another for so long. We stopped at the wall of the living room where there wasn't any furniture or wall hangings in the way. I leaned on the wall and gestured for L to do the same beside me, finally releasing his hand. The detective obliged, leaning back and putting his hands in his pockets, instantly slouching again.

"No, no pockets," I scolded. "Surely someone like you people watches. You've had to have seen couples out and about. If we're going to sell this you can't look so... broody."

"Broody?" L echoed, taking his hands out of his pockets.

"Yeah," I said. "You're acting like you couldn't give a single care about who you were standing by. Show our audience that you enjoy my company, that you love just even the slightest physical contact. That being near me is like being home."

L blinked a few times. I wondered for a moment if I went to far. Perhaps I should just take the first move to show him what I meant, not that I was certain I could act it out convincingly myself. However, L's arm reached out and wrapped around my shoulders. He pulled me into his side, making me realize I never really gathered how tall he was. I was secure and protected in his grasp.

Oddly, the image of all those internet videos of unlikely animal friends popped in my head. Like a dog and a duckling. Or a cat and a mouse. L was the predator; the bird of prey—a hawk with ever sharp vision and talons. Meanwhile, I was the rat—the rat that scurried in places it wasn't wanted, chewed on wires, and stole away all its food and necessities. A rat that had to fight just to survive.

A hawk would normally not hesitate to snatch up a rat and devour it and a rat would not hesitate to bite anything dangerous that got too close. Yet here we were, the rat huddled under the hawk's wing. It was an act—I knew that—but there was something comforting in this position. I hadn't let anyone be this close to me in years. If anyone tried I usually kneed them in the gut or junk, whichever was easiest: a rat biting those she felt might harm her.

But L was different. L was someone I actually felt... better with his touch.

"Am I doing it correctly?" L asked me, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Getting there," I admitted. L was still a bit too stiff. I wasn't sure he was as comfortable with our touching as I was. "Here." I laid my head against the side of his chest in the hollow of his shoulder. The top of my head reached his chin. "Now rest your chin on my head."

L hesitated.

"I washed my hair last night, if you're worried," I teased.

L let out a small breath. I couldn't tell if it was out of amusement or irritation. Slowly, I felt the weight of his head rest atop mine. I closed my eyes and slowly wormed my arm around his back, gripping his opposing hip to pull him into me. We still leaned against the wall, but our weight was centered on our upper backs, leaving our arms free of pressure.

"This feels awkward," L said.

"You don't have to always keep your head there," I pointed out. "Just sometimes."

L's head lifted from mine and I craned my neck to look at his face. He was staring off into the distance. His free hand went up to his mouth, ready to bite a nail. I reached up and smacked it away before his mouth could fully open. He shot a glare at me.

"Couples—and friends—care about the other's wellbeing," I said. "You're going to make your fingers bleed if you keep that up."

"Friend, hm?" L's head tilted slightly to the side. "I suppose that must make this odd for us."

I shrugged. "I used to have a friend I would say 'I love you' to. I'd kiss her cheek if I hadn't seen her in a long time."

"Should we practice that?" L suddenly said. "It slipped my mind, actually. But couples do that quite often, so I've observed."

"Uh..." My throat tightened. "Which part? The saying 'I love you' or the kissing of cheeks?"

"From what I understand, and this may come as a shocker, but most couples kiss with their lips against the other participant's lips." L's gaze flashed a little. Now he was teasing me, though he'd never admit it, I'm sure. But what sort of teasing was this? Was he just excited to berate me for using the word cheeks or... was he toying with me on a deeper level?

Nox was laughing loudly from across the room. I was tempted to shoot the Shinigami a glare and flip him off for good measure, but L's eyes were arresting. They refused to let mine go.

"Ah, I suppose you're right," I managed to say. My voice, to my surprise, actually kept even. "Unless this is just you're way of getting to kiss me."

"I assure you, Jack, I would make it quite clear if I wanted to kiss you for the more... traditional purposes," L replied coolly. "In this particular case, we need to get this act down if we want to present it."

Something deflated inside my chest. I wasn't sure what it was. Perhaps I was a touch disappointed with L's all-business response. Messing with him on this level would have proved to be quite hilarious, after all, but I suppose the detective had a point.

"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" I asked him.

L's gaze flashed. "Have you?"

"That's a truth you're requesting." I waggled a finger at him. "I already gave you one of those."

"Well, you can't expect me to pass out free truths either," L said.

"Someone as awkward as you... someone with a past such as yours..." I looked him over. "I would assume that dating wasn't a high priority. Or possibility."

The movement was so sudden that it took me a few heartbeats to register it. L's arm slipped away from me, but his hand gripped my shoulder. He moved his body around so that he was directly in front of me. He put his other forearm against the wall above my head and leaned his face down close to mine. His nose was an inch away from my own.

I had come to realize that L never wasted a movement. He carefully went about with deliberate motions and words; he wanted no lack of efficiency. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised the detective was so capable of moving quickly, but all the same I took a sharp intake of breath and pressed my back to the wall. He had me trapped.

"I have had to be careful going about in my life, much like yourself," L said. His voice was low and soft. "Doing what I do, it is imperative no one knows who I am. I too have had to act and slip through cracks and even demolish walls to get where I am. I think a little kissing shouldn't be an issue to perfect."

Was he confirming what I said—that he hadn't had anyone before? Could someone like L even _want_ anyone in that manner? My heart was thudding insistently against my ribs. It was so loud I felt certain the detective could hear it. He merely stared into my eyes, awaiting my response.

"Do... do you want my consent, is that it?" I said, half laughing toward the end of the sentence.

"I will not do anything to you that you're not comfortable with," L said. "When it comes to this sort of thing anyway. But I do believe it will assist our act if we practice. We need to get to the point where it doesn't look so awkward. Where it is fluid and natural."

"I don't think Kira would mind if we weren't sucking face in front of him." My voice was thin and tight. I hoped L didn't notice.

"You're not comfortable."

Well, looks like he noticed.

"It's not that," I said. "Look, you're cute. Handsome even, in an odd sort of way. Kissing you actually probably wouldn't be so bad, to be honest. But I think if we show too much attachment to one another, too much affection... if Light _is_ Kira, he might want to take advantage of that."

L didn't move away. "You think he would use you against me? Or attempt to?"

"Or vice versa," I said. "Kira is a devious murderer—a psychopath with one hell of an agenda. He wants to play god and he's made it clear he isn't going to let anything stand in his way. But us two? We're probably the largest obstacle he'll face."

L slowly pushed away from the wall. His hand fell from my shoulder. "I suppose that is a valid point. Of course, if he is Kira, he would need our names to do any harm."

"We don't know if he'll resort to more deliberate actions if he knows he won't be able to get that information," I said. It was odd, now that he was farther away, I was hyper-aware of the space between us. "We need to find a happy medium between this dating ruse and making it seem like we're just business partners. We don't want to give Kira reason to go out of his way to get at one of us to harm the other."

L shrugged. "Very well. The leaning thing should be sufficient, I suppose."

I tried not to loose the breath of relief that was hiding in my lungs. What I had told L was the truth. Kissing him probably wouldn't be so bad, but I hadn't let myself be that close to anyone in a long time. I was already considering the detective to be my friend. It was best not to push boundaries.

"So when are the entrance exams, exactly?" I asked.

"In two days," L replied. "You can accompany me. Watari will take us. While I complete the exams, you can explore Japan a little. Perhaps find a tea house."

I grinned at him. "Sounds fun. Watari is good company too." I paused, something occurring to me. "Who are we saying Watari is?"

"By the time Light will think to ask, he will already know," L said. "Like I stated before, we will most likely both score at the top of the class. They will have us give a speech for the beginning of the semester and that is when I will tell him who I am. Until then, he will see us from afar. He will wonder. He will get himself so wound up about who we are that he might just slip up."

L then turned and began heading toward the couch. I followed after him, a frown on my lips. It meant I would be seeing Light from afar as well. Would I be able to get Nox to slip up? I racked my brain for possible ways to get an excuse to look into Light's bags. I couldn't find a Death Note in his room, but that could mean it was either well hidden in there or he kept it on his person.

"Shall I order some food?" L asked.

"Sure, I'm actually in the mood for a burger," I said, plopping down on the couch.

As L went to the phone, I glanced over at Nox. The Shinigami was leaning on the wall near the kitchen. He liked being near the apples, always waiting for an opportunity to snatch one, I wagered. He met my gaze and grinned.

"You're thinking really hard on this one," he said. "Are you sure this Light Yagami is the one you're after? What if you're just wasting your time?"

"You might just want me to think that," I murmured so low I barely heard my own words.

Nox laughed as L hung up the phone.

"What was that?" L asked, coming to sit by me.

"I was singing to a song," I pointed at my headphones.

"You're really pushing it, Jack," Nox warned me. "I know what you're planning."

I locked my gaze onto him. I hoped with all my being that my eyes said: _You don't know Jack_.


	9. You Humans Are So Interesting

_Light_

Light Yagami approached the expansive building that was To-Oh Academy. His steps were confident and smooth and his hands were stuffed in his pockets. It was a new year, but there was still a chill in the air; Winter didn't want to relent her grasp on Tokyo. Light knew how she felt all to well.

It had been a busy couple of months since the incident of the FBI agents. With Raye Penber, his fiance, and then the surveillance in his home for a full week, he'd had to do a lot of thinking on his feet. The detective known as L was a force with ever gaining momentum. Every time Light thought he'd had him beat, something else popped up. The bastard even wrecked his computer. It was a good thing he'd thought to put in that virus folder, but he didn't think someone as seemingly prudent as L would fall for it, then fry his power strip in a sloppy attempt to cover his tracks.

Light tried to push those thoughts aside for now. He had to complete his exams to get into the Academy, not that he was terribly worried about passing. With all the studying he had shown off doing, he figured he'd better do his best regardless. Appearances were important. Light was confident that most would believe Kira would never advertise how intelligent he was, so he saw this as yet another strategical move.

There were several people heading toward the school, like strings of ants carefully picking their way toward their hill. Some spoke to one another, some laughed carelessly; others were silent, staring at their toes as they walked. However, one thing nearly all of them had in common was the air of nervousness they carried. It was pungent: a gas that hung in the air. One had to pass the exams to get into the Academy. It was natural to be a touch nervous if one didn't have the full skill and knowledge to pass.

Perhaps that was why Light's stride was so full of purpose, so dauntless. He knew full well that he had what it took. Compared to his work as Kira, this was nothing.

"Sure is busy," Ryuk noted. The Shinigami floated along behind him. L glanced back, taking in the gray flesh and lidless eyes, the ever-grinning mouth, the spiky black hair, and shoulder pieces made of what looked like large raven feathers. His wings stretched out behind him but they didn't flap; they never did.

Light, of course, couldn't reply to the god of death, not out here in the open with so many people. He merely nodded slightly to acknowledge him and kept making his way toward the doors.

As he approached, he noticed two people that stood out from the drab of the crowd. Perhaps it was how they were dressed. The young man was wearing a long-sleeve white shirt and jeans. The shirt seemed a size too big and hung on his thin frame. His hair was black as ivory and laid in a layered arrangement that hung down over his dark eyes.

The girl, meanwhile, was in far brighter attire. Her thick hoodie was cerulean blue while her jeans were dark, almost navy. Her shoes were an array of neon colors and appeared to be the flat-footed runners people who skateboarded would wear. Her hair was the color of a cloudless sky, and it was short—shorter than the male she was with and even shorter than Light's. On her head was a pair of brilliant yellow headphones, but one ear was exposed in order to allow her to hear those around her.

Needless to say, both of them were hardly dressed for Japan let alone such important exams.

Their demeanor drew Light's attention next. While the majority of the students were stressed out from the pressure of the exams, these two seemed practically carefree. The girl was grinning and swinging their joined hands. The male was calm; his gaze was flat and almost bored—with where he was or with the girl, Light couldn't tell. They paused near the doors and faced one another. Light was just close enough to hear her speak to him in English.

"Just do your best," she said. "I know you've got this down pat, but... you know, still."

The young man's mouth twitched a bit—a ghost of a smile. "Well thank you, I suppose that is decent enough reassurance."

"You don't need it." The girl waved him off.

Light was only a few paces from them now. He found himself slowing his steps so that he could listen to their conversation longer.

"I shouldn't be long," the young man said. "You can explore a bit. I'll text you when it's done."

"Just remember—don't believe in yourself, believe in the me that believes in you." The girl reached up, cupping the young man's cheek. She held his gaze with what seemed like sincerity, but Light could see the struggle at the corner of her mouth. She was trying not to grin.

The young man just stared at her, unmoved. "That's from The Fist of the North Star."

"My drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens, Hideki," the girl said through a laugh she was clearly trying to suppress.

The young man let out a long breath, but his hand came up and gripped hers. He brought it to his mouth, his lips brushing against her knuckles. The girl blinked, as if this was not a common occurrence. However, she recovered swiftly, beaming and wrapping her arms around her companion.

"Break a leg. Knock 'em dead. All the cliches for good luck you can think of," she said in his ear.

The young man returned the hug, but his movements were a bit stiff. "Thank you, Nina."

Light passed them at that point. He didn't look their way or give them any cause to think he'd been listening or paying so much attention to them. What an odd couple. They almost seemed like opposites. The girl clearly wasn't Japanese. Given her accent she was either American or Canadian. Part of Light wondered who they were, but he decided he had more important things to focus on.

The exams were as easy as he predicted. Light breezed through the questions and was already halfway done within the first fifteen minutes. Oddly, it was a bit refreshing to take a break from his real work, but he felt the call of his Death Note waiting for him back home. Now that he had L scared enough to threaten 1500 FBI agents coming to Japan, he was ready to take his next steps into finding the detective and ending him.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to sit properly in your seat."

One of the teachers was patrolling up and down the aisle of students and spoke out behind Light. Curious, he glanced over his shoulder toward whoever the teacher was scolding.

It took all Light's self control not to startle. It was the young man from outside, the one with the pale complexion and dark hair. He was perched in his chair like some odd bird, his feet bare and toes gripping the edge of it, knees up to his chest. His shoes laid forgotten under his desk.

However, the mere fact that he was there wasn't what shot a chill down Light's spine. The young man was staring at Light. Staring so intently with his dark eyes Light felt like they might pierce a lance through his skull. What was that about? Who was this guy? It was too late to act like he hadn't noticed, so Light elected to give the young man a small nod as a way of greeting. He didn't bother to keep the confusion off his face. Anyone would be taken off guard by a stare like that.

The young man did not return the nod, nor did he bother correcting his posture for the teacher. He just kept staring.

"Sir," the teacher tried again. "Please, sit down and put your shoes back on."

Light decided to return his attention to his papers. His heart pattered and stammered with unease. He didn't know what to make of it—was the young man someone he should know? Perhaps L had sent someone else to tail him, but he certainly wasn't as stealthy as the FBI agent Raye Penber had been. If it was an agent of L's, the detective needed to find better people.

There was a chance the guy was just weird, but it seemed off though. He was clearly an awkward oddball, so how did he have a girlfriend? One that was out of the guy's league, if Light was being honest with himself. From what little Light had seen of her, she seemed to be that young man's opposite—laughing and joking, wearing loud colors even in her hair. Meanwhile, this guy was quiet and reserved and had no color in his attire whatsoever.

Light could still feel the stare on the back of his head, like someone was trying to squeeze his skull like a lemon over their water. He didn't dare look back. Instead, he focused on his exam and pushed on until he finally finished, a half hour later. The jolt of the strange man staring at him had hurt his time, but he still felt he did well.

When Light turned in his papers, he saw that the young man had finished before him. Light spotted his dark head of hair just disappearing through the doorway.

Eager to get some answers, Light took long strides to the doors. When he exited the building, he spotted the young man down the path a ways. He was being greeted by the girl with blue hair. Light was too far away to hear their words, but she saw him grip the man's hand in both of her own and beam at him, jumping once with enthusiasm. The man shrugged and pulled her toward him, wrapping an arm around her waist. They began walking like that further down the path.

Light paused, trying to think.

"Oh ho..." Ryuk muttered from behind him.

Light glanced back, but it was too crowded to speak to the Shinigami. He instead raised a brow at him, hoping to get an answer.

Ryuk laughed and shook his head. "This just keeps getting better and better. You humans are so interesting."

Coming to the conclusion that Ryuk wasn't going to give him any information, as usual, he turned and began to follow after the couple. Something was up, especially after that little quip from Ryuk. He had to find out what.

* * *

 _Jack_

"You're sure this is a good idea?"

L's voice was low so only I could hear it as we walked toward the street. He had texted me he was finished with his exams before he was even actually finished. It timed it so that when Watari pulled up on the road and by the time I walked up the path to greet him, L was just leaving the building. He said he wanted to avoid letting Light speak to him too soon.

But while Watari and I had gone to have tea while L did his tests, I thought of something.

The plan starting boiling in my mind when we first saw Light go into the building. I had tried to pay attention both to him, L and Nox all at the same time. The Shinigami that stalked me gave no indication of anything, however. He merely stood a few paces away, leaning on the wall and messing with the ragged hems of his cloak.

I wanted alone time with Light. I wanted to speak to him before he had any indication of who I might be. It would be in both and effort to make him slip up and to make Nox give me some indication that there was another Shinigami around. Slowly, a plot formulated in my mind. And lucky me, I'd managed to sell L on it.

"Trust me," I said. I walked with a confident stride. L's arm was still around my waist. At first I had been a bit wary of the touch, but now it was oddly comforting. Like he was giving me some strength for the shit I was about to pull. I hadn't told the detective my entire plan.

"Light lives near the Shinjuku station," L said. "This isn't a good way to test how desperate he is to follow us when we're heading his way."

"Making it easy is part of the point," I replied, grinning over at him. "Let him watch us. Let him ponder and fester his anxiety about who we are. After all, from what you said, you mean-dogged him pretty good."

"Mean-dogged?" L echoed.

"Glared at him so hard that if you had super powers his head would probably be a pile of ash right now." I winked.

L grunted softly. "Watari is set to pick us up at Tokyo station. Let's just hope this trek is of some use."

We took the subway up to the main JR line and transferred over. Of course this time of day, the JR was flooded with people. It was, after all, the main line that roved around Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region. I felt my heart rate began to accelerate at the sight of the line built up waiting for the next train. We were at Ueno station, which was one of the busiest. People were coming and going like eddies in a river. I clung close to L, surprise that it seemed to help relieve the tightness in my gut from the crowd.

"The trains aren't so bad once you get used to them," L said, seeming to sense my discomfort. "Besides, I'm sure someone will be willing to give them your seat."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, frowning up at him.

"You're an attractive young woman," L said with a shrug. "Plenty of men would be eager to act as the gentleman for you."

"Was that a compliment with a genuine tone?" I teased, prodding him in the side. "You're going to make me blush."

"I think I already have," L pointed out, reaching up and brushing a thumb against my cheek.

True enough, there was certainly heat in my cheeks. I knew we were supposed to be trying to sell this dating act, but damn... I didn't expect him to get to me like that.

"Maybe it's just been a long time since someone paid me such a lovely compliment," I said.

"Can't imagine why."

I scowled at him and saw his mouth flicker with an almost smile.

The train pulled in, sending a small blast of air our way before it slowed to a stop. The speakers above played the musical charm announcing its arrival and the disembodied voice calling out: "Ueno. Ueno desu."

A flood of people exited the cars, but as soon as they left, the lines of people were filing in. They pressed forward, and as L and I neared the car, I realized that there was barely enough room for someone to take a single step. They were literally shoulder to shoulder, squashed in like sardines.

L stepped up into the car, squeezing between two business men. He looked at me expectantly. There was barely enough room for one more person. But should I step up there, it was going to have me pinned when the door closed. I wouldn't be able to move.

I wouldn't be able to breathe.

The chime was going again, the warning that in three heartbeats, those doors were going to close.

"Nina," L said sharply.

I finally found the courage to move. But instead of taking a step forward, a step into the car...

I took a step back.

The doors closed.

L's eyes were wide as the train pulled away with him inside and me still standing at the station.

It was a good thing I wasn't even planning on getting onto that train. I had gotten pretty familiar with the train lines, unlike what I led L to believe. I could avoid the JR if I wanted to. But to be honest, the act I just gave for L wasn't entirely fiction. There was a reason I stuck to the subways and not the main line. This crowd was a nightmare.

Now to sell it.

"Shit," I breathed. "Shit, shit, shit!" I stumbled a few steps back.

Directly into someone.

I immediately reverted to Japanese. "Excuse me," I said, turning to properly apologize.

"It's all right. Are you okay?"

My heart leapt into my throat. Part of me hadn't expected this to actually work- but there he was.

Smiling at me was none other than Light Yagami.

* * *

 _Light_

Following them hadn't been the easiest thing, especially when they got on the subway. Getting off on Ueno station was a nightmare this time of day. He was terrified he wasn't going to be able to get on the same train as them when they went up to the platform to board the JR. But he'd arrived just in time to see the train doors close, separating the young man and the blue-haired girl.

"Oh hello," she said in stilted Japanese. "Uh, yes, I got..." She paused, seeming to search for a word. "Separated from my..." She paused again then let out a small, frustrated sigh. "I'm sorry, I'm not very skilled with Japanese yet. Do you speak English?"

"I do," Light replied in the language. "What happened exactly?"

The girl laughed and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's pretty embarrassing, to be honest, a real rookie mistake. I might as well be a tourist," the girl said, switching to English. "I got separated from my boyfriend. I guess I saw all the people smashed into that train and... well it freaked me out."

Light frowned at her. "Yeah, it can be a bit nerve-wracking if you're not used to it," he said. "Are you going to try and get on the next train?"

The girl glanced from the train tracks to the signs overhead showing the schedule, then back to Light. She adjusted the headphones on her head a bit. One still covered her right ear.

"Honestly, I don't know. I have someone that can give me a ride, but he's on the other side of Tokyo right now, it would take him forever to get here," she said with a tight sigh. "I don't want to make him do that. But at the same time... it's so busy..."

"Do you want someone to come with you?" Light asked. "What station were you trying to get to?"

She hesitated, twining a gloved hand with the cord to her headphones. "I wouldn't want to be a bother. You don't have to do that."

"It's okay," Light said. "In fact- if you like, I'm familiar enough with the train lines, we might be able to figure out a way to just use the subway to get you to the right station. It might take longer, but at least it won't be as crowded."

"Oh, well that's really nice of you!" the girl said. Then she grinned wickedly. "But how do I know you're not trying to pull something on me, huh?"

Light laughed a little. "Oh, no, of course not, miss. My father is actually a police officer. And the subways aren't deserted, mind you. Plus there are cameras. I won't make you follow me anywhere you're not comfortable."

He didn't know who this girl was, but he wouldn't mind some time to talk to her. To figure out who she was, and if she was a threat.

"How chivalrous," the girl said with a chuckle. "All right, pretty boy, I'll take your word for it. I'm trying to get to Tokyo station. If you can show me a way to get there without being part of a cat's canned food, I'd appreciate it."

"Of course, I'd be happy to," Light said. "I think... did I see you and your boyfriend at To-Oh Academy today?"

The girl's face lit up. "Could be! Hideki had exams today. Now that you mention it, I think I saw you pass by!"

"Yes," Light said with a nod. "My name is Light Yagami. Who might you be?"

"Oh, my name is Nina Forner," the girl replied. "Let me just text Hideki to wait at Tokyo station. Otherwise He'll just get on the next train back here."

She pulled out a phone and flipped it open. Light was tempted to see if he could maneuver around to look at her screen to see what name she had "Hideki" saved under. The more clues he had on that guy the better. However, Nina stayed in front of him, only showing him the back of her cell as her thumbs danced across the keys. She paused for a moment, then there was a small tone and she looked at her screen, eyes darting back and forth.

"Okay," she said, snapping the cell shut and grinning up at him. "He'll wait for me at Tokyo station."

Light smiled back at her. "Great. It'll probably be about a half hour to forty-five minutes, but I think you'll appreciate it much better than stuffing yourself into one of those."

Even as he spoke, another train showed up and people shoved themselves inside. There wasn't even room for a single yen between the people.

Nina watched with an expression that almost looked nauseated.

"I agree. Let's go." She turned to him, giving him a toothy grin.

Light offered her his arm. "Best we don't get separated."

She eyed it for a moment, clearly apprehensive.

Light chuckled. "I'm sure Ryuga will understand."

"Right," Nina said. She slowly reached up and then slid her hand into the crook of his elbow.

He could sense her discomfort. But he didn't let it show. He smiled gently at her before leading the way back down the stairs into the main station.

He'd have at least a half hour alone with her on the subway. Surely that would be enough time for him to pry some useful information from her. And if she was a threat... he'd eliminate her.

* * *

 _L_

This was not good.

L had dealt with several different complicated situations. More than complicated situations. But he had almost always known all the variables. All the potential possibilities. Yet somehow, somewhere along the line, he'd neglected to notice a very key factor.

Jack was scared of crowds.

Not just scared. Terrified.

The look on her face was that of someone facing the barrel of a gun. He didn't understand at first. He gestured for her to join him. But instead of stepping forward to his side- she'd stepped backward. And then the doors closed.

It made sense- the medicine she took might not just be for sleep after all. But what part of an anti-psychotic helped with agoraphobia? Wouldn't that be a type of anxiety? L had all the pieces to put this particular puzzle together but for some reason he couldn't get them to fit.

He'd planned to get off on the next stop- text her and tell her to just wait there, he'd go back on the next train going the other way back to Ueno. But she texted him first.

 _"Hey, so that guy you took the test with—Light? He's here and offering to get me to Tokyo station through the subways instead of the JR. Meet you there?"_

That's what it read. It sounded so casual. Like a girl texting her boyfriend. L knew her phone was set in English, the text would read in English, but neither of them were certain how fluent Light might be in the language. She was smart, covering her tracks in case he managed to look at her cell. And L knew it was a brilliant chance. Taking the subway all the way to Tokyo station would take about a half hour and that was just riding time, not including transferring trains and getting to the subway itself from the JR.

She'd have plenty of time to investigate him. Talk to him. Possibly get him to slip up. Jack was smart, she'd proven that time and time again.

But so was Light.

Suddenly, Jack's episode didn't seem like just discomfort of crowds. While he felt confident even she couldn't fake that kind of terror in her eyes, he had a horrible feeling she planned this. She had said she wanted to see how far Light would follow them. She started heading in a direction that would lead Light home on purpose.

 _That idiot._

L bit down on his thumbnail. He could almost hear Jack's voice scolding him for doing so. The mere idea of her being alone with Light... Light who very well could be Kira...

He'd stared at his phone, at her simple, common text, his heart hammering. If he told her to tell Light to leave her alone- to tell him that L would be back for her- even offering for Light to wait with her while L returned- all of that would only show Light was that he was blatantly suspicious of him.

No. No, L knew that wasn't what he was frightened of revealing to Light. He _wanted_ the young man on edge. He _wanted_ him to panic and slip up. That was the entire reason he'd gone to the test in the first place, why he'd shown his face.

L knew the real thing he was scared of showing Light was that he was concerned about Jack. That he... cared. Showing that kind of protectiveness would only tell Light that Jack could be used as a weapon against him, just like Jack told him he would do if he saw them too close. He couldn't have that kind of weakness, that kind of vulnerability. Besides, it wasn't like he truly... cared... about Jack...

L's fingers darted across the phone. His response was simple.

 _"I'll be waiting, then."_

She didn't respond back.

She still hadn't responded after L had been waiting at Tokyo station for nearly thirty minutes.


	10. He's Only Human

**_A/N::: Apologies for the late update, IRL stuff got in the way this weekend, but here you are! Next chapter will be up this Friday on schedule._**

* * *

 _Jack_

With my arm twined with Light's, I couldn't help but recall how reluctant I was to have physical connection with L. At that moment, I missed the oddball detective more than anything. I would have given just about anything to have his arm around my own and his awkward slouched form walking at my side.

To be honest, at first I couldn't place why my feeling of discomfort was so strong. Some might even argue Light was more attractive than L. He looked well rested and had perfect posture. He smiled quite a bit and it was a warm, welcoming smile. His hair looked soft to the touch, and he was certainly handsome. His eyes were the color of molten amber.

However, there was something about all of that collected together that made me want to pry my arm free. It was too polished. He was too polite; too damned perfect. Perhaps because I had my suspicions that he was Kira I was reading too much into it. There was a chance he truly was just a gifted student who happened to have a father in the police department.

It was a bit difficult to try and focus on both Light and Nox as we navigated through the station. My Shinigami hadn't given away anything as of yet. He looked just as indifferent, and chuckled every time I looked at him.

"Now, now, Jack," he said. "I told you. I won't help you cheat. Perhaps he does have a Shinigami with him. Or perhaps not." He shrugged. "Who's to say?"

It took a lot of self control not to flip him off.

Light had been courteous enough to purchase my subway ticket for me. We had to separate for a moment as we went through the automated gates, but he waited like a gentlemen for me on the other side, instantly taking up my arm when I reached him.

One might find it admirable, like he was some sort of protective guardian. However, I found his actions far more akin to a possessive beast harboring his kill for later. It wasn't that he gripped me too tightly or that he gave me any horrific looks. On the contrary, his grip was gentle, and he, like the majority of other human beings, ran warmer than myself. Yet once again, I was struck with an anxiousness that I couldn't track to the root.

When we finally got onto the first subway, we nearly had the entire car to ourselves. It was a blessed relief from the mess that had be the JR line. I sat down on the bench and Light sat one spot away from me. Perhaps I would have thought he was being nice, respecting the personal space I seemingly valued so much.

"So, Nina... is it okay if I call you Nina?" Light said after a moment.

"Sure," I said with a shrug. "I'm not from here, so I don't care if you forgo the formalities when addressing me." I grinned.

Light smiled back. "Where are you from?"

"Oh, I'm from Canada," I replied. I rubbed my knees in a hope the act looked like I was calming myself down.

"What brought you to Japan?" Light queried, tilting his head. "Long distance relationship?"

I laughed. "I suppose so. In a sense. Hideki is my brother's friend. He stayed with us while he was a foreign exchange student. They ended up growing close."

"And you got close with him too, it seems." An amused glint lit Light's eyes.

I shrugged. "Alex wasn't too thrilled at first. It's better now- and I mean, as you can tell, it's still a pretty new thing."

"Ah so you just start dating?" Light perked a brow.

I nodded, trying to act sheepish.

"Well that's nice," Light said, leaning back in his seat. "I just... no offense but he seems a bit eccentric. And you seem..."

I frowned at him, slowly raising a brow. "I seem what?"

Light chuckled a bit nervously. "Don't take this the wrong way. You just seem to have a louder personality than he does. He's very odd."

"Ah, well I think that's what I like about him."

I realized how true my words rang at that moment. Light's eyes met mine and I saw his brow furrow slightly. Shit. Did he notice how honest I was too? I was trying to avoid him thinking we cared for one another too deeply, after all.

"I guess I can understand that," Light said. "So... this thing with crowds... have you always had that?"

"What do you mean?" I hadn't expected him to pry about that.

"I mean, I've heard of disorders... sorry, is this too personal?" Light rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's just claustrophobia," I said with a shrug. "Plenty of people have it."

"Right. Sorry, I don't mean to stick my nose into other people's business," Light replied. "I've had friends before with similar things. Just thought I might..." He laughed again, shaking his head. "Sorry, I really don't know where I was going with it. Hey, this next stop is ours, we'll just be switching trains... we only need to take this next one two stops, and the one after that will just be one stop over to Tokyo station."

Well that was odd. I wondered why the hell he pushed that subject. Light seemed smart and polite. Not the type to just dig into personal business like that. What was he hoping to get out of that?

As we walked through the subway to the next station, I found myself lost in my thoughts. So much that I was hardly even noticing the people around us.

Nox still wasn't giving me anything. That part seemed to be a lost cause. but that wasn't going to halt my suspicions of Light Yagami. He had mechanisms set up in his room so he knew when someone had been in there besides himself- the graphite of a mechanical pencil in the door hinge- the paper in the doorway. It didn't seem typical behavior, even for an straight A student that was into porn magazines.

Besides, if his top secrecy priorities were his girly pictures, why not keep anyone from actually entering his room? If his mother went up there and found them, he would probably hear about it before he managed to go upstairs to his room to see the snapped graphite stick.

Nothing added up.

"Do you ride the subways often?" I asked, my mind suddenly snapping into full deduction mode.

Light blinked at me. We were waiting for the next train to arrive. I realized that the station that the American FBI agent was killed was going to be one of the stops we would be going by on this train. It was the Yamanote line.

"It's the easiest way to get around," Light said. "I have a license, but driving in Tokyo is a nightmare."

"I can only imagine," I said with a laugh. I let it die out and I frowned. "I suppose it's just a little scary to be around the stations nowadays. Crowds or no."

"What makes you say that?" Light asked.

"Well, I'm sure you've seen the news," I murmured. "This whole Kira thing... it's just... he killed one of the officers that was investigating him. You know, at first, I was kind of behind Kira with just murdering all those criminals but... that guy probably had a family or something... He didn't do anything wrong, he was just doing his job."

And that left his fiance alone and desperate to find who killed him. If Light was Kira, that meant I was standing next to the guy who killed Naomi. I had to force my hands not to clench into tight fists.

"Yeah, it's been awful," Light agreed, his voice somber. "What a time for you to be in Japan, huh?"

I shrugged. "Every country has it's issues. I just hope this Kira guy doesn't decide to start killing random innocents to further his goals... If he's willing to cross the line to kill cops, will he decide to cross another?" I shook my head. "I suppose it could be a woman for all we know."

The train arrived. Once again, we got a car that was next to deserted, and once again, Light sat one seat over from mine to give me space. He leaned back in his seat and cast me a smile.

"Well, I hope that this trip wasn't entirely ruined," he said. "Have you gotten a chance to see Tokyo?"

I'd actually managed to get a trip down to Akihabara with Watari for a day last weekend. It had been anime manga paradise and I'd nearly lost my mind, and also came back to L's penthouse with several new figurines for my shelf back home. Not to mention a shit ton of new CDs.

"Legend of Zelda?" the detective had asked me, a brow raised.

"It's an amazing game series!" I defended myself, clutching the little Link Between Worlds figure I was playing with.

But I felt like letting Light know my little quirks and interests probably wasn't the best idea right now.

"Hideki has shown me around a little," I said, grinning. "I really like the shrines."

Light nodded. "They are beautiful."

Nox was pacing up and down the car. He seemed to be bored. I wanted to keep glancing at him to see if he might give anything away, but if Light was Kira, I didn't want to tip him off that I had a Shinigami as well.

"So, what are you planning on going to school for, Light?" I asked, looking over at him. "To-Oh Academy is a pretty good school from what I hear. Do you think you did well on the tests?"

"Yeah, I think my parents want me to focus on school for a while before deciding on what to do with my life," Light said, propping his head in a hand, his elbow leaning on a knee. "I want to be a detective, actually. Work with the police."

"That's good," I replied. "Maybe they could use you to catch Kira." I grinned.

Light looked me over. "I'd love to help but I don't know if I'm prepared for a case like that," he said with a small smile. "I'm not L... Nina, Did you mean what you said earlier? About Kira? About being on his side when he was just killing criminals?"

I forced myself to remain indifferent as I rubbed the back of my neck. "I mean, it sounds awful, I know," I said softly. "He's a murderer, but the people he was killing were horrible people. This world is probably a much better place without them."

Half truths. Ever since the first time I heard of Kira and the people he was killing, part of me did think that some of the assholes he was killing deserved it; but no one had the right to play judge jury and executioner. Who was to say any of those people were framed? If they were let off for good reason? There were too many variables in this world for someone to have a notebook that could kill anyone. And it was only a matter of time that Kira would have to kill those who were pursuing him. It wasn't like he was just going to roll over and give up.

"He's a killer, the most dangerous one in history quite possibly," Light said. "Regardless of who he kills. No one knows how he does it, who he is, or how to begin stopping him. Someone has to do something."

The cords of his neck were standing out a bit. I raised my brows. I didn't expect Light to speak out against Kira so intensely. Perhaps he was trying to make himself appear less suspicious. I frowned.

"Of course he has to be stopped," I said.

The train arrived at that point and we boarded one of the back cars. It was only one stop way from Tokyo station; we wouldn't be on this one for more than two minutes.

"Of course, catching Kira is going to be quite the feat," Light mentioned. "Especially with such a dodgy attempt to intimidate him with those 1500 FBI agents supposedly coming to Japan."

I frowned at him. "You don't think they're sending them?"

"I think it's a bluff, and a bad one," Light said. "This detective guy, L, he can't use these childish tactics against someone like Kira."

Time to take a small risk for the sake of self satisfaction.

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much," I assured.

Light shook his head. "How can you say something like that? If Kira isn't

caught, it could lead to a whole new type of world."

His expression seemed genuine. He looked distraught, his hands gripping his knees tightly, brow furrowed. But it was _too_ perfect. Just too damned perfect.

"I think he can be caught," I said, leaning back in my seat.

"You do?" Light seemed transfixed by me.

I nodded. "You just have to know where to look," I told him, tapping my nose. "And what to listen for. Everyone slips up. And as much as Kira is trying to play god, well..."

The train stopped, the doors sliding open. I got to my feet and smiled at Light, finishing my sentence before turning and stepping onto the station.

"He's only human."

* * *

 _L_

L didn't know how to explain the feeling that flooded his center when he saw Jack step off the train. It had been as if his entire body was wound up, tight as a spring, the entire time he had spent sitting at the station. Yet when he spotted that familiar blue head of hair, the cerulean hoodie, the new winged headphones he'd given her, his entire body relaxed. A long breath fled his nostrils.

It was akin to when he had a particularly strong sweets craving and finally popped some candy into his mouth. Or when he'd been stuck in shoes all day and was at last able to take them off when returning to his hotel room.

It had been 47 minutes and 34 seconds since her text. All that he had been stuck with was the knowledge that somewhere on the subway lines, the same ones that Raye Penber had died in, was Jack alone with the very person L suspected was Kira.

And speaking of...

Light appeared behind Jack. For a brief moment, not even a heartbeat, the young man looked livid. Yet as soon as L registered it, Light's face relaxed and he looked around the station with a thoughtful frown. It was Jack who spotted L first.

"Hideki!" she called and headed over to him. She was smiling, but there was something a little off about her eyes. "Sorry, did you have to wait long?" She spoke in English.

"No," L lied. He stood from the bench he had been perched on, taking her hand and pulling her toward him and away from Light. "Were the subway lines less crowded?"

Jack nodded. "That was my bad. I should have known that I wouldn't have been able to handle the JR line this time of day."

L hadn't realized it was going to be an issue. And he was cursing himself for it. It should have been obvious, but he was so caught up in Light potentially being Kira that he had failed to observe anything about Jack. Or her plans to get to speak to Light alone, it seemed. He'd be interrogating her about that later.

"It's alright," L assured her. He glanced at Light. "Thank you for escorting her." He said the sentence in Japanese.

Light smiled. It was warm. It seemed genuine, even. "Oh, I speak English," he said. "And I was more than happy to help her. My father would scold me senseless if I just left a young lady stranded in Ueno station like that. I can just take the JR from here to Shinjuku. It shouldn't be as crowded now." His English was quite fluent. Not surprising considering his level of intelligence.

"I'm sure we'll see each other again," L said, fixating Light in his gaze. "I'll be sure to repay you."

Light met his glare, unflinching. "There's no need. It was my pleasure. Nina is a very special girl, you're lucky to have her." His smile widened. "I wouldn't let her out of my sight again if I were you."

L felt heat surge up his spine, but he remained still and calm. He shifted his grip on Jack's hand to twine his fingers with hers. "Of course not," he said. "Thank you again. Nina, shall we?"

He turned and began to guide her away. Jack followed after him, calling after Light over her shoulder.

"Thanks again, Light! Guess we'll see you around To-Oh!" She was beaming and waving with her free hand.

Light bowed. "Of course. I hope to see you again soon!"

They descended the stairs leading down into the main station. Jack's grip on L's hand was tight- her hand was freezing.

"Are you all right?" L asked her softly.

Jack shrugged. "As well as I can be, I suppose."

"You had been planning that."

"Well, to be fair, I don't like being a sardine."

L sighed and shook his head. "That was foolish. What did you two even talk about?"

"Oh, I told him we thought he was Kira and that we were going to expose him." Jack's grin was wide and shameless.

L squeezed her hand. "Nina."

"All right, fine." Jack looked forward again. "I gave him our little back story. We talked about what he planned to do with his life. Turns out he wants to follow Daddy's shoes; become a detective." She shook her head. "Anyway. I decided to do a little test."

"What did you do?" L demanded in a low tone.

"No need to sound like you're in despair," Jack retorted. "It wasn't anything crazy. I just said I was worried about the subways now since Kira killed a cop there. See how I used the word 'cop' just then? Not FBI? Makes me seem more like an innocent civilian just concerned about everything. Not intelligent enough to really pay attention to the media."

"You brought up Kira?" L said.

"In a natural, tactful way, yes." Jack held her chin high. "I even told him I was on Kira's side until cop killing started. He surprised me, actually. He denounced Kira, said he had to be stopped."

"Interesting..." L frowned. It was a huge risk Jack had taken with that. Jack wasn't as... gifted with words as some. "What did you tell him?"

"That Kira was only human, just like us." Jack shrugged. "And he'll get caught eventually."

Another risk. What was she thinking? But at the same time, it could serve in their interest. And it could make Light think that perhaps Jack was L.

"I suppose it will be enough. He'll stew in this for a while until I see him again at the opening ceremonies for the students that were accepted into the Academy," L said. "We'll make our next move then."

"Next move?" Jack asked, perking a brow.

"We'll talk about it when we get back to the hotel," L said. "Oh, and Nina?"

"Yes?" She blinked at him innocently.

"Next time, at least warn me before you do something stupid," L murmured.

Jack laughed. "Where's your sense of adventure, Ryu?"

When they got back to their suite, Jack stretched and headed to the kitchen, putting on some tea. L walked after her, kicking off his infernal shoes as quickly as possible.

"So, Light certainly seems a bit..." Jack frowned as she moved the saucepan over the stove. "Polished. Too polished. Too clean, too... polite. Normally I'd chalk it up to good manners drilled into him by his father, but while I was with him... I don't know."

L shook his head. "That was a dangerous move. If he is Kira... you were off and alone with him."

Jack looked over at him, blinking. "Did you fret for me, detective?" A fox's grin began to curl her lips. "No need, I'm a touch more tactful than I let on."

"That isn't the point, Jack," L said. "We are meant to be partners on this. We need to be honest with one another, at least when it comes to the case. It will avoid potential casualties."

Jack's eyes fixated on her saucepan. Steam was beginning to rise from the surface of the water as it prepared to boil. "There were just some things I needed to see for myself before you swooped in," she said, her voice soft. "I'm sorry I worried you. I wouldn't jeopardize the case, you know that. Everything I do is looking for an answer. To track down Kira and end him."

"You can't work the case if you're dead," L scolded.

Jack laughed. "He doesn't know my name, L. He can't kill me without it. And trust me, he doesn't know yours either." Her eyes darted over to his for a moment. "I wouldn't do that to you. I'd give him my name first."

L glanced away. Yes, that was the thing that made Jack such a liability on this case. Because somehow, somewhere, she had managed to track down very old and supposedly destroyed files. She had found L's true name. It was why L knew for certain she wasn't Kira. Why he trusted her. And why he couldn't ever let her out of his sight again. Because if Kira should ever find out she knew his name, he might just resort to some very nasty actions to pry it from her.

L would not have Jack hurt on his account.

"I know you wouldn't give him any sort of information," L said. "But remember how crafty he's proven himself to be. If Light is Kira..."

"All the more reason to get closer to him, right?" Jack winked and smiled. "Don't worry, L. Your hide is safe from the poacher known as Kira. He won't ever get anything from me."

L exhaled slowly. She didn't see it. She didn't get why L was so distraught. She kept going back to reassuring him she'd never betray him, that she wouldn't jeopardize the case. However, that wasn't what L was upset about. He knew she would never do those things—not on purpose at least. Jack was wild and reckless. She sprinted into things head-on and with a laugh on her lips. She was so busy worrying about defending others—defending the case—that she didn't think about herself.

Jack was something even L had not yet managed to crack. When they started their competition on who could find the most of the other back during their first case, L had been so confident he was going to win. However, Jack proved to be more resourceful than he could have ever imagined. She even told him that his name was not on the web, so there was no need to worry about that. But she did find it's location from her expertise on tech.

Meanwhile, L had found nothing. He couldn't even figure out Jack's gender or age. So if Kira could find out her true name, that would be very impressive. So impressive that L might think he was out of his league pursuing him.

However, even with that knowledge—even with almost complete confidence that Jack wouldn't get herself killed so easily... He had still heard his heart in his ears for the entire time they were separated. For the entire time he knew she was alone with Light Yagami. Perhaps it was for the best she believed L was just looking out for his own skin and for the case. Because if she knew he had such worries for her...

L began walking toward the living room as Jack steeped her tea before adding the milk. He didn't understand it. Was it due to the fact he'd lost those FBI agents? Then Naomi Misora, the third of their trio during the first case? He was responsible, after all, for their involvement with the Kira case. He brought them here to Japan where Kira was ready and waiting to take their lives.

Now for another to lose her life for him- for this case... He hated the sense of sickness it drove into his gut. True, Jack was the one who came to him and insisted on being a part of this but all the same... if she died because of him- if she was hurt because of him...

L did not need this kind of distraction right now, but he was stuck with Jack whether he liked it or not. She wasn't going to leave this case, and he didn't want her to. She knew too much, she was too valuable as an asset.

"So, what is our next move, exactly?"

Jack came to the living room with two cups of royal milk tea. She set one in front of L.

"I already added the honey," she told him as he picked up the cup.

"Thank you," L said, taking a sip. "Mm, just the right amount."

"It was nearly half the bottle."

L shrugged. "In any case, as far as our next move goes, I assume I will be asked to give a speech at the opening ceremonies, as I said. Light, should he score high enough, and I assume he did, will be giving a speech as well. When we go back to sit down, while we're still in the crowd and seated next to one another, I'm going to formally introduce myself."

Jack blinked. "You're just going to tell him you're L?"

L nodded. "And I'm going to tell him you're Jack."

He told Jack his plan between sips of his tea. By the end, she seemed eager and ready to move forward with it.

"Oh this will just be delightful." Her grin was wide and ecstatic. "It could very well make him slip up. And hoo boy, am I ready to yank that wet floor sign away before he goes down this hall..."

L was still getting used to some of Jack's metaphors, but he supposed this one worked.

"Just be careful," he told her. "We don't want to give him too much."

"Of course not," Jack said. "Just enough honey to go with that tea." And with a wink she got up to go pour herself another cup.

* * *

 _Nox_

When she finally finished her before bed work out routine, Jack slept like the dead. Which was pretty convenient tonight.

Nox flew across Tokyo, examining the elaborate lights below him and the people coming and going. He wondered if what he was doing was wise. If it was going to end up getting someone killed or not. Of course this entire time he'd been trying to get the girl to use the damned notebook, so he supposed it couldn't hurt, one way or another.

The Yagami household was easy enough to find. He'd remembered its location from when Jack came here to hack the computers. He floated over toward Light Yagami's room, and phased through the wall like it was a sheet of water.

Inside, it appeared the young man was sleeping. There was a large shape in the darkness with spiky shoulder pads and hair. Nox landed near the desk and frowned down at it.

"Who knew she was actually on the right track," he murmured. "I'd like to talk, Ryuk. But not here, and especially not if the kid's awake."

Ryuk's wide, yellow eyes gleamed in the shadows. He gave a small nod and began to float upwards, up and through the ceiling. Since he didn't give an excuse for his departure and the boy in the bed didn't move or make a sound, Nox guessed he really was asleep. He followed Ryuk upwards and they then both sat on the roof, the moonlight's soft glow bathing them both.

"Gotta admit, I was pretty shocked to see you, Nox," Ryuk said, his voice like gravel. "So. You somehow got your hands on a second notebook as well." His yellow eyes gleamed as he stared at the red notebook on Nox's hip. "How'd you pull that off?"

"The King can actually be tricked if you're careful enough," Nox said. "'Losing' my original notebook in the human world, spinning a tale of how some idiot human destroyed it thinking it would cleanse his soul after he killed a good number of people... Well, it'll only work once, I know that." He grinned. "And you?"

"Borrowed a spare from someone who wasn't using it," Ryuk said with a low chuckle. "I figured I might as well see what a human would do with it. In case you're wondering, no, I didn't tell my human anything."

"Likewise," Nox replied. He hugged a knee to his chest. "What are you doing down here, Ryuk?"

"I could ask the same of you," Ryuk countered with a small chuckle. "I was just bored. But I know you, Nox. You've always got some agenda. How many has this one killed? She must be something special if you haven't killed her."

Nox stared up at the moon. "None."

"None?" Ryuk turned to look at him.

"None," Nox repeated. "It's a pretty long story to be honest, but I wanted to try something new." His grin was wide and feral. "I showed myself to her when I gave her the notebook. But she doesn't want anything to do with the thing. She only keeps it because she wants to retain her memories about it and destroy any others she comes across."

Ryuk laughed, long and hard. "You've got to be kidding me! That's got to be the best thing I've heard all day. She hasn't killed a single person, yet you let her keep on?"

Nox shrugged. "New tactic, like I said. I'm going to let this one run its course. It might lead to something new."

Ryuk snorted. "Nox, did you ever think that maybe Shinigami just exist to exist? This might be one long fruitless venture."

"We've been over this." Nox waved him off. "I will find answers, one way or another." He grinned over at his fellow Shinigami. "Besides. This is damned good entertainment. Can't get this back in our realm."

Ryuk laughed again. "You've got that right. So, I assume you're here to make sure I don't give away the fact that your girl has a Death Note?"

"And vice versa," Nox said. "No cheating."

"Of course not." Ryuk's smile never truly faded, but it did appear to grow in that moment. "That makes this all the more fun."

"Want to take bets on how long this plays out?" Nox asked.

"Hmm... Six dozen apples says that you'll kill your girl before I kill my boy," Ryuk said.

"What makes you say that?" Nox scoffed. "I have self control."

"She's not killin' anyone, Nox," Ryuk said. "You're a Shinigami. Death is what we do. You'll grow tired of it eventually."

"Well, I'll take that bet," Nox said. "Jack is many things, but boring isn't one of them, killing people or no." He got to his feet, stretching his long limbs. "Well, I'll see you around, Ryuk. Just make sure not to give anything away."

"Same goes to you," Ryuk replied with a low chuckle. "Humans are so interesting, won't you agree?"

Nox let out a grunt of amusement. "Your favorite thing to comment on, I see. Here."

He tossed him an apple, one he'd picked up on the way over.

"Ah, what might this be? A bribe?" Ryuk sneered.

Nox shrugged. "A peace offering. I know you wouldn't do anything to get yourself killed, Ryuk. But just leave Jack's name out of your notebook, even if she starts getting close to finding your boy out."

"Perhaps I'm not the one you should be worried about getting themselves killed," Ryuk noted. "You seem rather fond of her."

Nox flexed his wings, turning away from his fellow Shinigami. "She's taking a new tactic on the Death Note. I'm quite interested to see if it yields any of the answers I've been looking for." He grinned over his shoulder at Ryuk. "How often does a human pass up the chance to kill so easily? I'd hate to start from scratch."

Before Ryuk could respond, Nox spread his wings and drifted across the sky. He decided he'd grab some more apples before returning to Jack. He shook his head and smirked a bit. Part of him did want to tell her, just to see the look on her face. That she had been that close to Kira. That she knew his name. And if she wanted this to stop, she could just write it in her Death Note and be the victor. Would she do it? Would she sacrifice her soul and morals for such a thing?

"Humans truly are so interesting," he murmured to himself as he flew. "Ryuk has that much right."


	11. Don't Judge

_Jack_

Three months went by. I was now quite used to the routine of packing up and switching hotels now. And now that L knew I took sleeping medication, it was a bit less awkward to try and explain my long sleeping hours or my need for tea first thing in the morning. Every night around ten I would bid L goodnight and retire to my room. He would then wake me by pounding on my door around eight or seven, depending on his mood.

There were some nights that I stayed up until the sun rose pouring over notes and different strategies. Because we had such a long time for the opening ceremonies at To-Oh Academy, we had a lot of time to go over just about everything regarding Light Yagami. We dove into his school records, any jobs he'd had, and I'd even managed to snag some medical documents online.

"Oh, he's AB positive," I told L over my laptop screen.

"Are you in his health records?" L asked incredulously.

"Yuppers," I replied, scrolling through the documents. "And looks pretty squeaky clean, to be honest. No surgeries, no hospitalizations. No broken bones, not even cavities. I'm telling you he's too perfect. I'm fairly certain he's an alien."

L grunted and came to sit by me. Well, perch, per usual. "You know this is illegal."

"Are you going to put my in handcuffs?" I winked at him with a sly grin.

L didn't look amused, let alone fazed. Oddly enough, we were getting quite good at the whole fake dating thing when we were out in public. I was starting to wonder if our increased banter was a result of that. After all, as my father always said, people don't tease those they don't like. They insult them blatantly instead.

"So, if Light is an alien as well as Kira, how do you propose we fight the extraterrestrial?" L asked, ignoring my comment.

"I saw a movie once where water hurts them. But I've seen Light open a door, so I don't think he's that kind." I frowned, tapping my lower lip with my index finger as a show of pondering. "Hm. Perhaps he's the Thing—have you seen that one? The one they've remade like twelve times? But if that's the case we might be screwed I don't think they ever killed it—but it _was_ frozen once upon a time. That's it!" I smacked my fist into my palm. "We trap him in a freezer!"

L actually smiled a little. I was quite pleased with myself. Sometimes I wondered if he was just putting up with me, but when I actually got him to crack a grin, even a small one, I liked to think even if that was the case, I was growing on him. Like some sort of cancer, most likely.

"I'll start working on that, just in case it does turn out he is not of this world," L said.

I laughed. It was easy to tell when the detective was in a good mood when he went along with my nonsense.

All the while, Nox hovered and prodded me verbally anytime I got too close to revealing vital information regarding the Death Note. My notebook had to be moved since my lovely time of the month had come along a few weeks after stashing it there. Since we moved hotels every third night, I had to come up with a safe location where L or Watari wouldn't accidentally come across it.

I asked Nox for suggestions since he was the one so intent on keeping all this shit secret, but he just scoffed and waved me off.

"I'm not the one trying to pull off the impossible, Jack," he had said. "Figure it out."

In the end I did. Sort of. For a week straight, each night I would retire to my room an hour before I actually took my medication. This led me to be particularly groggy in the morning, but it was worth it. I took my satchel and with a thread and needle and one of the two blankets I kept with me, I stitched in a pocket of sorts. The blanket's fabric was so close to the satchel's, it wasn't terribly noticeable unless one was looking for it.

I then set it up so that there was some extra cloth on top of the pocket that could be tucked in. The pocket itself was so tight to the side of the satchel, only the Death Note could fit inside. Once it was slid into place, I tucked the fabric over it, concealing it's binder from sight. I knew my satchel was the one thing L hadn't gone through since it was with me when I went with Watari to the two police officers' homes. So the pocket would not appear to be anything new. For good measure, I placed a similar one on the other side and placed in a few bits of cardboard to simulate the same weight and stiff effect.

Now the Death Note was always on my person if I left the hotel. It was a little risky to keep it with me. If I somehow lost the satchel I'd be screwed royally, but I didn't have much of an option here.

It was a week before opening ceremonies for To-Oh Academy now. Things had gone as L predicted. He and Light scored at the top of the entering class and were therefore chosen to present an opening speech to the rest of student body. I had been to graduations before, so I could only imagine that this was going to be equally as boring. I remember being forced to sit through a ceremony where the speaker could not stop mentioning the word "plateaus." That had been the joke for the next several months among my group of friends.

"Let's go do something," I said, setting down my chopsticks. We had just finished our lunch and I found myself a touch stir crazy. "I want to go by Akihabara again."

L looked up at me from his noodles. It was a bit odd to see him eat something that wasn't coated in sugar. However, the small bowl of ramen was alone among a plate of chocolates and candies.

"What for?" the detective asked me after slurping up the rest of his meal.

"I loved it there," I said. "There were arcades- Sega themed arcades! Like three of them! And a Pokemon card shop! C'mon, this time of day the subway won't be busy, we wouldn't even have to bother Watari."

"Don't you think we have more pressing matters?" L asked, delicately picking up a chocolate between his forefinger and thumb.

"Like what?" I groaned, throwing myself back into the couch. "We've already gone over all the case notes like four to five times over. We've discussed the plan to confront Light more times than that. I know everything there is to know about this case and what we know so far backwards and forwards. I'm going to loose my mind staying in the hotel rooms. I want to go walk around!"

L let out a long exhale through his nostrils. He popped the chocolate in his mouth and took his time chewing it. Once his throat finally bobbed, showing he'd fully devoured the sweet morsel., he met my gaze.

"If we do this we're only going to be out for five hours, understand?That includes the time it takes to get down there and back." L said. "No more."

Five hours was actually pretty generous for L. I beamed. "Of course! And I highly doubt Light will be over there. It's too... rambunctious for him."

L gave a small nod. "I would admit it would be a surprise to run into him over there. But if we do, I think we can manage."

True enough. We had spoken about my time with Light on the train; analyzed it. Light was tricky. He was too clean in every sense of the word. The fact that he didn't make it a point to hide his amount of intelligence could be seen as several things.

If he wasn't Kira, he just happened to be a gifted student in an unfortunate spot during this investigation. If he was Kira, it could mean that he thought showing off his cleverness so openly would make us think he wasn't the mass serial killer after all- that Kira would be a fool to advertise it. Or, the third option, was that it was the second but a touch of complete and total arrogance. Of gloating. Showing off just what he is capable but we had nothing to take him down with as of yet.

Light had nothing to worry about if he wasn't Kira. Once we ruled it out, we would recruit him as part of the task force and move on. However, if he was our target, L and I were more than prepared for him. There was no chance in hell he'd be getting our names. Well... he might get them if he had the Shinigami eyes. Yet then he'd only be getting L's, and if L just upped and died while we were investigating Light, well that would cinch it. It would damn him to being the most likely suspect tenfold.

Yet the idea of L dying made a wasp nest erupt in my gut. I wasn't about to let that happen to someone who had helped so many lives.

Either way, I was pent up and needed distraction. So the two of us left the hotel, taking the subway over to my favorite district in Tokyo. Luckily the trains weren't nearly as busy. Playing up our act, L and I switched between holding hands and having arms around one another. I had gotten so used to it by now that touching him was no longer an issue for me. In fact it was almost second nature. Like he was just another part of my own body that was sometimes there and sometimes not.

When we arrived in Akihabara, I beamed at the sight of lights and tall building with massive banners of anime strewn across them. There was J-Pop music coming out of speakers that lined the main block. A few anime opening themes even played. I took my headphones off from my head and hung them around my neck instead. L stared at me when I did so.

"What?" I demanded. "There's music all around us, Ryu. Shouldn't be that surprising."

"It's just odd to see is all," L replied, glancing away.

We headed into the first Sega arcade I could find. The giant sign on the outside was fairly easy to spot. I delighted in all the lights and sounds around me. There were five floors of nothing but games and vending machines. The first floor was mainly crane machines, which were doable but I had my heart set on something more involved.

I bounded up the stairs, L just behind me. The second floor was a various array of different fighting games and such. I went through the aisles, my smile never ending. Nox was looking around as he drifted after us. The Shinigami looked a bit awed.

"Humans sure have a lot of toys," he muttered.

I ignored him, pausing by one of the games.

"Pokemon Tekken!" I squealed. "Ryu, play me."

"Excuse me?" L said.

"You're not just here to be pretty," I told him. Then I paused. "Pretty in an odd sort of... broody way."

"I do not brood." L looked a touch insulted.

"You slouch, your hair is in your eyes, your pale as snow, and you've got circles under your peepers like you haven't slept for weeks, and I happen to have it on good authority that you haven't." I folded my arms, smirking at him.

He glanced toward the machine. "Pokemon, is it?" he murmured.

"Yeah!" I didn't mind him changing the subject because he was actually sitting down.

I sat at the machine next to him and we both connected them to one another for a VS match. I had no idea how L would be at video games. I'm certain with practice he could be a master at it. But at the same time, tech was my jam. I had been playing games since I could hold a Gameboy.

When we loaded into the game, I chose Gengar as my fighter. Gengar was by far my favorite Pokemon, had been since I played Fire Red. I don't know what it was about him, but I found him oddly adorable and terrifying at the same time with his big grin and menacing glare.

L meanwhile chose Lucario. I frowned a bit. Lucario was a Fighting Steel type. Gengar was Poison Ghost. Fighting moves did not affect Ghost types, but Poison moves did not affect Steel. It was a good Pokemon to come out even against Gengar. Was L looking for a fair fight?

Now, in Pokemon Tekken, it wasn't like the standard Fire Red I'd grown up with. It wasn't turn based, and we weren't issuing commands to our Pokemon as the trainers. We were the Pokemon. The game dropped us down in the center of a Pokemon Gym arena type deal, and 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!

L's hands were like lighting. His thumbs darted across the controls and he rushed his Lucario at me. Swiftly, I jumped up to avoid his first attack, slamming the buttons into what I hoped would be a combo. I knew the concept of this game, but I'd never played it before. But all fighting games had combos.

My Gengar's tongue flailed out of his mouth, smacking Lucario across the map. I smirked. First blood was mine. But L game back strong. I guessed this was his first time playing too, because he kept trying different button combinations like I was. His Lucario was fast, and my poor Gengar was trapped in a flurry of blows, cutting a third of my health. I finally figured out there was a block move and started using it to my advantage. L figured it out shortly after.

We went at it for some time, and were fairly evenly matched. I realized that despite my previous consideration of types in our Pokemon, that didn't seem to matter in this game. It was just button mash to victory. Although both of us mastered a few combos a few minutes in. In the end, I discovered there was an ultimate type move. I fired it and it slashed the rest of Lucario's health bar out of existence.

L slowly nodded as he set his controller down. "Interesting," he said.

I laughed and flexed. "That's why you don't mess with the master."

L grunted softly. "This is what you do in your down time?"

"Not this specifically," I said. "Just games. But for the record, I think me figuring out that Ult move was what cinched it for me. Have you played games before?"

"Some, but none like this." L got out of the seat. "What else did you want to do?"

I led him up another floor. Nox was always hovering nearby. He never left me alone, probably concerned I would give something away to L about the Death Note. But I didn't want to think about that damned notebook right now. I didn't want to think about Kira or about Shinigami. I just wanted to focus on my hand in L's as I pulled him through the aisle of games. Of the lights and pumping music around us. The other young adults scattered at the machines, some alone, some with friends and laughing with one another.

I just wanted to pretend, if only for an hour, that I wasn't in a war with a serial killer. That I was just another girl with her boyfriend. Just out to have fun, to relax.

The third floor was music games. DDR and other things. One that I found fun was something sort of like a piano version of Guitar Hero. There was a touch pad strip that one would place their finger tips on. While the bars when across the screen, it monitored hand movement and touch. L was devastatingly good at it. I watched him for a bit, mesmerized by how fast his reaction time was.

"Would you like some pointers?" he asked without looking back at me, still playing the game flawlessly.

I let out a laugh that sounded like the nervous twitter of a bird. "Nah, I got it!"

I did get it. But not as well as L.

One of my favorite games we game across was a table flip game. That's right, it had a small plastic table with hinges on the back, and the entire purpose was to flip the table up at the right moment to cause as much destruction as possible. There were different rooms to choose from. A bride at her wedding with the table the cake sat on, a man at his desk at work, a kid at school...

"Ryu, Ryu!" I beckoned him over excitedly when I found it. He had stepped away to get a drink from the vending machine.

"What is this?" he asked blatantly.

"You flip the table!" I was more than excited. "There are so many memes about flipping table—ah, you probably don't know memes."

"I know there's one with a Shiba Inu."

"The doge!" I beamed at him. "Anyway. Try it! Bet you can't beat my high score."

L looked from the game to me then back to the game. He silently held out his drink to me. It was warm citrus tea. The fact that Japan had vending machines with heated stuff was probably the best perk of this country.

The detective picked a location. He did the man at his office job, which was good. I had done the bride at her wedding and wanted to see the other options. L gripped the edge of the table. "Does it matter how hard I flip it?" he asked.

"I would assume so," I replied. "But you get points with the more stuff you break."

"Why am I not surprised you love this one?"

"Don't judge."

L's lips twitched with a slight smile. There was a small jolt in my belly at the sight of it. Like there was a small frog in there that did a small hop. I was used to feeling random crap in my stomach- stress did that. But it was usually something uncomfortable. Nausea. Knots. Wasps. Snakes. But this little frog... it wasn't exactly... bad. This little frog seemed quite happy, actually.

L flipped the table. It bounced up at smacked back down and I nearly winced, thinking that it was going to break. For such a lean dude, L had some strength hiding in there. The character screamed, "THIS IS SO STUPID!" in Japanese and the virtual table on the screen went flying. It showed its initial takeoff three times with slow motion and still frames for effect.

As the table crashed through the office building, L took out nearly all the NPCs, (which was extra points, mind you), and several computers. He even managed to send one flying out the window because of the chain reaction he'd caused. I went over to watch at his side, seeing all those numbers rack up.

"Day-um," I said. "Remind me never to goad you into a competition again—you overkill it."

He ended up taking the number 3 spot on the leader board. I had number 6.

"Not number one?" L murmured. "Hm. I wonder what I missed."

I knew L well enough that he probably spent that time in the beginning analyzing everything he could about the simulation. The NPCs walking paths, how many things would be in the way, if he could cause a splash damage effect if he did it right. For him to have missed something miffed him.

"To be fair, this is your first time playing it," I said. "The number two and one have probably been down here every single day for the past month to get that."

L shrugged and glanced over at me. His face was oddly close. I only then realized that our arms were pressed together. When I was watching the score mark up, I had leaned into him to get a close look. I hadn't even realized it.

"Woop, sorry," I leaned away.

"Don't apologize," L said. "We have an act to sell, remember?"

I shrugged, but I still could sense some discomfort in L's tone. I handed him his drink and we went on exploring the arcade. There were less interesting things upstairs. Mainly more fighting games and crane machines. I did end up winning a rather adorable Totoro plushie from one.

Once I'd had my fill of the arcade, we headed out and started wandering the streets. I found a manga shop and grabbed a few volumes of Monster. The first and second ones in Japanese would be delightful to have. At one point, L disappeared for a bit when we were in a figurine shop. All the glass displays were so close to one another the aisles were only wide enough for two people across and even then it was a tight fit. I was a bit concerned when I couldn't find the detective.

"Nox," I whispered, glancing over at the Shinigami. "Did you see where he went?"

Nox laughed. "What do I look like, his keeper? _You're_ the current owner of my Death Note, Jack. I could care less about your pale boyfriend."

"He isn't—" I began but shook my head. "Never mind." I turned and went around the corner.

Almost smack into L.

I yelped and stumbled back, terrified of causing a domino effect on all these blasted display cases, but L caught my arm and pulled me up.

"I apologize," he said. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"S'okay," I rasped, trying to calm my stammering heart.

"Who were you talking to?" L asked.

Well shit. "Oh. Uh. Myself. I looked over and you were gone and..."

L tilted his head. "I thought I heard you asking someone where I went."

I shrugged. "That someone was me. I have some interesting old habits that haven't faded. Sometimes if I asked myself something when I was a kid, I would remember."

A blatant lie. But I wasn't going to tell L I was talking to a god of death. Nox was tutting behind me.

"We've had this talk, Jack. Don't be so careless when speaking to me," he drawled.

Ass. I knew that, but I thought he might have at least told me which way L had gone. Speaking of...

"Where did you go?" I asked the detective before he could question my odd statement.

"Ah." L lifted a small bag. "You said I still owed you a Christmas present... back in your first email you sent me about this case... So here."

I blinked. That had just been a quip I thought was funny at the time. I loved me some sass and I figured L at least knew that much. But all the same, I was quite curious what he had gotten me.

"That's... actually pretty sweet," I said. "Thanks, Ryu."

L shrugged and handed over the bag. I eagerly peeked inside.

It was a pair of headphones. But not just any old pair. These were high end- noise canceling, needed batteries to work fully headphones. And to top it off, they were absolutely adorable. They were yellow with red accents, and there were two little plastic white wings about each headphone. There was a blue star on each side. I thought my heart was going to explode with how preciously awesome these suckers were.

"Ryu!" I cried, looking up at him and beaming. "These are amazing, seriously!"

"I wasn't sure if you would like those ones or the ones with the cat ears," L admitted, gesturing half-heartedly toward the bag in my hands. "But I kind of take it you're a dog person anyway. Besides, wings symbolize a lot of things."

"I suppose they do," I said. "Where did you find these?"

"Upstairs," L replied.

I nodded. Almost all the buildings in Tokyo were like five different shops stacked atop one another. So that's where he sneaked off to.

"I could have whisked away when you weren't looking," I whispered to him with a wicked grin.

"I took that into account," L said. "But to be honest, I've come to the realization that we work well together. In person even more so than over IM. And you know that as well as I do."

Of course I did. I knew this case was going to take a certain level of trust between the two of us, and one couldn't really build trust with someone they've never seen the face of. That was why I set up to meet L in person as soon as possible when I arrived here. But I couldn't help but wonder as we went on with our venture through Akihabara if there truly was solid trust between the two of us.

I went back to when we first met. Of course, met was a strong word, as we did not ever see one another's face. I had been popping around the Unites States, using my skills every chance I got to screw over dickheads. Now my definition of dickhead ranged far and wide: Those who stole, those who bullied, those who encouraged hate, those who raped or molested, those who killed or hired others to kill for them. Those who dealt in dangerous drugs, those who exploited others to gain. I was like the Batman of the internet. A ghost who used tech to her advantage to expose all the dickheads I could find and usually threw salt in their wounds in the process.

I eventually found myself in LA. Though not being a hug fan of such huge and bustling cities, I was still certain I would find plenty of cases to work, which is why I forced myself to put up with the crowds. At the time, I only listened to my music about half as much as I did now. I patrolled the streets, listening to people. I listened for complaints, for hints, for leads to anything that might keep my attention for a time. The more elaborate, the better. I always loved a challenge.

Then the murders started. The Wara Ningyo Murders. The LA Locked Room Killings. There were a few other names of equal amounts of grisliness, but nonetheless they caught my attention quite quickly. Victims were drugged then murdered in different ways, with voodoo dolls nailed to the walls. Wara Ningyo, the dolls were called. In the first victims home there were four, in the second there were three. And in the third- big surprise- only two dolls.

The odd thing was, the victims were not seemingly connected in any shape or fashion. One was a thirteen-year-old girl. That had really gotten my blood going. The killer left behind no evidence. They killed their victims differently each time, like they were experimenting. I was instantly enthralled with the case.

Eager to dive in, I began poking around in different data bases to see which police stations or even FBI agents were already working on it. Of course the police knew about the murders, but it appeared it wasn't quite big enough for an FBI investigation.

Now at this point, I was fairly well known in the States. Well, Jack was. My calling card, the Jack of Hearts, and of course only speaking in text with the police. Luckily, it was fairly easy to prove who I was when I took over all the computers in a station. Not just anyone could do that. Several officers already told me I would be under arrest if they ever found me. But after I helped them solve some cases, they changed their tune a bit. But I knew I was still wanted. I never actually introduced myself as Jack in person, that would be a moronic move.

After some time, I noticed that an FBI agent that was on leave was investigating the murders. Naomi Misora. I wasted no time in taking over her computer and sending my message offering to help.

Her response was a touch annoyed.

"Again?" her text read. "Don't tell me I have to destroy this computer too."

It was then I discovered someone else had been the one to prod Naomi into this case. She claimed it was L.

I had heard of L. A world famous detective that had made my case work look like child's play. Thing was, I didn't have nearly as many connections as he surely did. I asked Naomi to get us in touch, but she refused. She had heard of me, vaguely, and didn't want to work with my type. Said I was too reckless.

Taking the rejection a bit too personally, I set out to contact L myself. It took a lot of work. I started with finding all the known cases he'd worked on. When I did that, I did notice something odd. All of them involved ten or more deaths or at least two million dollars at stake. So what was he doing looking at a case with only three dead so far? I dug deeper, seeking out all the contacts he'd ever had. I hacked into their systems, poked around for anything of use. Anything at all.

In the end, I only found one address. It was something L had given a police station in Kentucky of all places, after helping them with a murder case of fifteen deaths. They found the presumed killer dead, but L let instructions for them to email him if anything else of similar note ever came up.

It was something.

I typed up an email, placing the image of my playing card icon first before explaining I wanted to assist with these LA murders.

And that was when things got interesting.

L hadn't contacted Naomi- it was someone else entirely pretending to be him. The two of us launched into an investigation of our own, deciding not to tell Naomi so that we might lure out the imposter. L even went so far as to station people across the street from her to keep an eye out for her safety.

We switched to speaking over IMs on a private sever of my own. Its defense was off the charts, and it was a fast, easy way to speak. Eventually, we began to banter a bit. We would poke and prod one another for information of each other's private lives. It bloomed into a competition of sorts. Perhaps I took it too seriously.

There was nothing tying to L online hardly at all. But I dug very deep when I wasn't working on the case. I found bits and pieces of things. There were some blogs of people who speculated about L. Some claiming there were others like him. Others that went by letters or other odd aliases. When I followed that rabbit hole, I found one old blog that had been deleted. But when I hacked into the server, I was able to recover it. It spoke of an orphanage for geniuses. The author of the post claimed he was part of it, but was cast out. He was bitter now and was ranting about it.

But the name was all I needed.

Whammy House. It was in England and still standing. Now, L had a network of people at his beck and call. He was able to bend the ear of any police agency, any FBI headquarters, probably even the president. What I had was Austin.

Austin and I go back. Way back. I actually had known him all my life. He was the only person in the world at the time that knew I was Jack. Austin was well off. He worked for an agency of some kind. He was never able to give me any details, but he was skilled with computers just as I was. Maybe not quite on my level, but still enough to land a job that didn't allow him to name who he worked for.

I had called Austin that night, explaining I needed a favor. He had laughed at me at first.

"You'll really go to any length to win sometimes, won't you?" he said.

"I'll reimburse you for the flight- I'm needed here," I said. "C'mon Austin, you gotta admit this would be amazing if we found it!"

"L might have done the world a lot of good, but I've heard he can also be ruthless," Austin pointed out. "You really want to be on that end of the barrel?"

"Oh my Lanta, Austin just do this. You and I both know you can get in," I whined. "Pleeeaaase I'll get you something cool."

"Something cool."

"Yeah! Like a remote control airplane!"

"We are both adults and I am older than you."

"But REMOTE CONTROL AIRPLANE Austin!"

"I'm not sure I even want to know anything about the guy. That makes me a loose end if he ends up getting pissed you know anything," Austin groaned.

"It's not like I'm going to tell him how I did it!" I retorted. "Seriously, I'm not a moron."

Austin was silent for a moment.

"Okay, I'm not a moron all of the time!" I grumbled.

At least that got a laugh out of him. "So... Whammy House?" he said.

"Yup. Sounds weird, right?" I remember leaning back in my bed, kicking one leg up in the air to examine my sock.

"Sounds... familiar actually. I think I remember Mom and Dad talking about it."

My leg fell on the bed with a _flump_. I sat bolt upright. "What do you mean?" I demanded.

"I dunno," Austin responded with a defensive tone. "I just remember, them saying the name. Not a name easy to forget. I was like, four, what do you expect from me here?"

It was just way too weird. Way too odd. My childhood was honestly anything from normal, and I kind of loved that. But at the same time there were certain parts that just made it annoying, especially when I was looking for answers about myself.

"Austin," I breathed. "When you're there... looking for L's information... I want you to look for one more thing."

In the end Austin found half of what I requested. And I made certain, oh so very certain, to reveal my winnings to L very carefully. For one, I waited until the case was over. When we had successfully exposed Beyond Birthday with assisting Naomi Misora, who eventually came around to talking to me and becoming a penpal of sorts. Then, when L was messaging me for the last time, I let the bomb drop.

He'd switched his user name to Ryuzaki. He decided to use the name as an alias from now on, as a sort of badge that he'd defeated BB. BB, who was also an orphan from Whammy House. I remember the screen quite clearly.

 **Ryuzaki:** I appreciate all your assistance, Jack. As... interesting as our time together was. Perhaps one day, we can help one another again.

 **ButtNugget:** I'll be happy to spam the email you gave me whenever I want to pick your brain, Ryu.

 **Ryuzaki:** Ryu?

 **ButtNugget:** A nickname for your nickname.

 **Ryuzaki:** How quaint. In any case, I hope you have good luck with your future cases.

 **ButtNugget:** Likewise. I'll make sure all trace of this IM is deleted. Oh, and Ryu? I won.

 **Ryuzaki:** Won?

 **ButtNugget:** The challenge. The competition, the game, whatever you'd like to call it. I won.

There had been a long moment before L had responded. I remember my hands were shaking slightly. My smirk was starting to hurt my face.

 **Ryuzaki:** Isn't it about time we stopped with games? The case is solved, Jack. I don't feel that I need to put up with your antics at this point, no matter how much you helped.

 **ButtNugget:** Don't worry. I'm not a snitch. I'd never give you away. But you and I have a lot in common. We're both curious by nature. I just want to make certain though. Ryu, what's my name?

 **Ryuzaki:** Is this a trick question?

 **ButtNugget:** You don't know it do you? You don't know what my birth certificate read.

 **Ryuzaki:** I admit, you hide yourself very effectively.

I was able to sense the strain in his responses. With how long it took him to message back. He knew what I was implying, and it terrified him that I could be right. That I wasn't bluffing.

 **ButtNugget:** Why thank you. You, on the other hand, are too famous for your own good. L Lawliet.

And that was when I destroyed the server. I left it there just long enough for him to see it. For him to realize that he had underestimated me, and then any trace of that conversation was destroyed. I left LA that night, because I knew there was weight to Austin's warnings. L was ruthless. He wouldn't want someone he didn't fully know or trust running around with that knowledge.

"You guys have something in common," my brother had said when he called to give me the information. "You like to hide the truth in plain sight."

So that's what brought me back to the present, to my current turmoil. I knew L's name, the one thing that could definitely get him killed in this case. Unless Kira wanted to invest in the Shinigami Eyes or a gun. That was a lot of trust that L was forced to place in me. Shouldn't I do the same? But the issue was if L knew my name, I knew he'd do research. He would do everything he could to dig up every single piece of me he could. I wanted to show L I trusted him, but... my past wasn't something I wanted to tell anyone just yet.

When we got back to the hotel, we played our game over some royal milk tea. L had managed to win a few times now. He now knew a few facts about me. I was allergic to cinnamon. I loved the smell of wet pavement. I had spent a summer in Ireland. I had a single sibling.

I had also gotten some truths from him, however. L spent five years of his childhood in England. I could have gathered that because of where Whammy House was located, but I didn't bother mentioning that. He also had never seen a movie in a theater. That was something I insisted on rectifying one day. He hated the sound of the accordion. He was a cat person, no surprise there, but preferred not to have pets; too distracting, he claimed.

Tonight, however, I decided to raise the stakes a bit. I knew there had to be trust between us. It was why I showed my face to him. But everything I'd been doing so far was practically the opposite. It was time to give L something he could work with. I wrote out my three statements, my two lies and one truth, shuffled them behind my back then passed them to the detective.

L laid them out and leaned forward, toes gripping the edge of the couch cushion.

"I was thrown out a window and into the sea as a baby," he read the first one then looked at me. "Are you serious right now?"

"Read the others!" I pressed.

L looked back at the papers. "I was crowned the world's finest rhino rider when I was five." He took a deep breath. "Jack, if you don't want to take this seriously tonight-"

"Just keep going!" I snapped.

L picked up the last piece and frowned. "I was adopted..." he said the words slowly, then turned his head toward me. "You were adopted?"

"Is that the one you choose as the truth?" I asked. "I don't know, that rhino one is probably the most-"

"Yes, I pick this as the truth," L cut me off. "Is it true?"

"Nah, the ocean one is."

I was only able to keep a straight face for about half a second. I laughed and shook my head.

"Yes, of course that one is the truth."

"This is... this is a heavier truth than you usually provide," L noted. "And so obviously too. If you wanted me to know, you could have just told me."

"And give you a free truth again? Nuh-uh no sirree buck-a-roo." I waggled a finger at him. "I suppose you want another truth, huh?"

"I suppose," L replied. He still seemed to be in somewhat of a shock.

"Well," I sighed, leaning back into the couch. The cup of tea I held warmed my always freezing hands. It was a comforting feeling. I tucked my knees up by my chest, socked toes curled over one another. "I don't know the full story. It wasn't like my parents couldn't have kids. They had a son who was seven when they adopted me. I was four, but I don't really remember much. I don't know my real parents or where I came from."

L turned to face me. He was still sitting in his ridiculous bird-like pose but his gaze was intent as it fixated on mine.

"Jack. You don't have to tell me all of this." His voice was delicate and low. A doctor speaking to an ill patient. I wasn't sure if I hated it or not.

"I'm fully aware of that," I said. "But I think... I think you deserve to know something about me, L. Something that might..." I shook my head. "Anyway. So my parents didn't tell me about it. I actually overheard them talking about it in the other room on the night after my eighth birthday. It's funny, because at the time, I was mortified. They'd lied to me. Betrayed me. I wasn't even a real part of this family, not like my brother."

"Did you confront them?" L asked.

I shake my head. "No. I never did. I wish I had. Just to tell them it doesn't matter. They're still my parents. Still my Mom and Dad."

"I just..." L's brows furrowed. "You were four when you were adopted, but you still have no memories of anything before that? People usually have at least a few."

"Yeah, dunno." I shrugged. "Part of me thinks it's probably repressed shit. But every time I try to remember... I got nothing. Well... I think I had a friend. Someone I cared about... but then again that could be my imaginary friend I had when I was five." I laughed, my voice small and weak.

"I'm sorry you don't remember," L murmured.

I didn't say anything else and L didn't speak for a long time. We sipped our cups and I sat in the sound of music in my right ear and the horrific looming silence in the left. It took all of my self control not to put my new headphones completely on.

"Thank you for telling me," L finally said.

I looked at him and saw he was staring at me again. His face was almost unreadable, but there was a sense of warmth in his eyes. He genuinely meant those words.

"Maybe I'll tell you more one day," I said to him. "I figured you would find it interesting that we have something in common. But think of that as your reward for humoring me today. I needed some time out on the town." I smiled.

L shrugged. "It was entertaining to see you so pleased."

"Oh, well, happy to oblige."

L let out a small grunt of amusement. "We won't be able to do that again for a long time. Once we make out move on Light, things will be different."

I knew that all too well. It was going to be quite tricky when Light was around. "We won't be able to play our game," I pointed out.

L let out a long breath. "I suppose you're right. Perhaps we'll have to pick it up when we've finally solved this case."

"Are you planning on keeping me like some sort of pet, detective?" I accused with sarcastic outrage.

"You are like a parrot, I guess," L said. "Except I don't know who keeps talking to you and teaching you such... interesting sentences."

"Oh, gee, thanks."

"In any case, no, you're not my pet, Jack. You would be free to leave. But we do seem to work well together. It's just a thought." L got to his feet. "I'm going to order us some dinner."

As L walked away I found myself pondering his words. I'd always worked cases alone. With the occasional help from my brother. But even that was over the phone or email. L seemed to have only worked with Watari. But maybe... maybe the three of us working together... the cases we could crack. The world we could shake. I was a critical thinker, but L saw things I didn't. He pieced things together faster. Whereas while L could do some basic hacking, he wasn't nearly on my level.

Staying with L... well, I already knew he was my friend. So why not?

I remembered how warm his hand was in mine. How oddly comfortable I felt with his arm around mine. How I didn't even notice when our arms were pressing. Like he was an extension of myself.

I wasn't going to let Kira ruin this. I wasn't going to let him take L. I glanced at Nox. No matter what it took, I would end this. But I had to tread carefully. So damned carefully. If I could just get some time without Nox there... maybe, just maybe...

"Ramen again?" L called to me. "Or something new?"

His voice startled me. I shook my head and looked over to see him staring at me from near the phone. It was pressed to his chest. His head was slightly tilted to the side, awaiting my answer.

"Do they have waffles?" I asked.

"Waffles?" L blinked.

"What's wrong with breakfast for dinner?" I asked incredulously.

L shrugged and raised the phone back to his ear, speaking in Japanese. "Do you have waffles? Yes, some of those... two will do. With syrup." He looked toward me, reverting to English. "Whip cream?"

"Duh," I replied.

"Yes," L said, once again in Japanese. "Lots."


	12. It's a Very Pleasant Name

**_A/N::: Sorry for the delayed Chapter again, guys, I was the Maid of Honor at a wedding this last weekend, so I was running around far too much to get this posted. Next chapter will be here on Friday on schedule! Enjoy!_**

* * *

 _Light_

Light tapped his pen against the desk, one hand gripping his chin. Over and over, he kept recalling the exams. That couple. The one he'd followed through the train stations. The male, Hideki, had made no attempt to hide his intent stare during the tests, and then the girl, Nina, and her episode at Ueno station... her comment just before they reunited with her boyfriend.

 _"He's only human."_

It had struck a rage in Light's heart that he didn't know he was capable of. It was like she _knew_. She knew that he was forging a new world in which he would be the god. It was what he vowed he'd become when he first met Ryuk. This girl—in one sentence—had challenged everything he was attempting.

There was always the possibility that it was just something she believed. That she didn't actually know anything and she was exactly who she said she was. However, there was something about the way she looked at him when she said it; in the slight tilt of her lips that implied a smirk. Light's mind could not deny that there was a chance that this Nina and Hideki were going to be a problem.

Ryuk was no help. Even when Light badgered him when he was able to speak to the Shinigami alone, the wide-eyed freak gave him nothing. He merely laughed and said, "I'm not helping you, Light, I thought I made that clear a long time ago." The prick wouldn't even give him a hint as to why he found the couple so amusing when he first saw them.

Light hadn't seen the two of them since. But it didn't stop him from looking. He tried to access the school records of all the people who took the test- intent on finding Hideki's family name. But he wasn't able to access it with the level of basic hacking he knew. However, with the show Hideki gave during the exams, and with how Nina acted on the trains... Light knew he'd be seeing them again.

He couldn't help but wonder they were working for L. If the detective was taking a new tactic against him. No more FBI agents or bluffing through the media. But these two people- people who couldn't be many years older than himself. But why them? What sort of purpose did they serve?

But the main thing Light wanted to know was why Ryuk had found them so interesting. What did he see that Light couldn't that would have caused him to make such a comment? Ryuk loved to tease Light endlessly- he'd done that when Light was trying to kill Naomi Misura, laughing when she gave him her alias and never telling Light about it not being her true name. He would make comments that alluded to the fact that there was something going on but never explain himself.

Well, Ryuk could see names and lifespans while Light couldn't. He'd refused the Shinigami's deal for the Eyes. What was the point in being the god of a new world if he wasn't around to rule it? So did Ryuk find something interesting in the couple's true names? Were they lying about their names in front of Light because they knew he could use them to his advantage? It was the only thing that made sense. That meant they knew that he was a suspect to be Kira, which solidified the fact that they were working with L even further.

Light sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. It had been three months since the exams and he was to make a speech at To-Oh tomorrow. He had a feeling he'd see at least Hideki again. He couldn't help but remember how... different the young man was from when they were taking the exams to when Light delivered Nina to him. In the exams, he'd been staring Light down without even attempting to hide it. At the station, he'd taken Nina's hand and pulled her away. Almost protective.

Then there was another thing. Something that was tugging at Light's chest. He kept thinking they were working for L. Was it possible that one of them was L? That L had come out and was trying to get to Light without him realizing it? Light never considered the possibility that L could be female. Was Nina the detective that had been daunting him all this time? That quip about Kira only being human... she could be goading him. Trying to rile him up.

"Ryuk," he said, slowly turning his head to look at the Shinigami. "Can you at least tell me if those two are a threat?"

Ryuk laughed. "And not watch you squirm?" he said. "I don't think so Light. Maybe they are. Maybe not."

Light let out a long breath. He didn't know what he expected. But regardless, he felt that tomorrow, when he saw Hideki again, he might get some answers. Some more clues about who they were and what they wanted.

* * *

 _Jack_

L had offered for me to come and watch the opening ceremonies. But I wasn't going to be able to sit with him when he gave his true identity to Light, so what was the point? If I was going to suffer sitting in a room full of people and listen to drab speeches, I wanted there to be a show to look forward to. Specifically the look on Light's face when L told him who he was. But since that wasn't possible, I told L that I would be waiting at the tea house he planned to take Light to later.

Watari dropped L off at the school and then took me over to the tea house in question. He sat with me for a cup, since it would be some time before L and Light were released from the opening ceremonies. We spoke about ordinary things like the weather and our tastes in music. Watari was pleased at the amount of classical pieces I had on my iPod.

"It's nice that youth hasn't completely forgotten the legends of symphony," he said with a warm smile.

"Hey, you give me hope for your generation too," I replied. "You actually were willing to listen to some modern indie rock and admitted it was decent."

"What was it, Night Terrors of 1927?" Watari looked at my iPod that laid screen up between us. "They are very good with vocals."

Watari eventually went back out to his car so that I could be alone for when L and Light showed up. The old man had parked just outside, and I could see him reading a paper through the window on my right. But I was fairly certain it was for show. To make himself look distracted when he was actually paying very close attention to everything around him.

The bell on the door of the tea house let out a cheerful chime. I leaned over to see L stepping inside, Light not too far behind him. Seeing the two of them side by side was interesting to say the least. L was slouching as usual, hands in his pockets. His dark unruly hair hung in his eyes, making the dark circles beneath them even more prominent. Then there was Light, with his polished posture and demeanor. He greeted the hostess at the door warmly, but he seemed a touch more nervous than the last time I saw him. His shoulders were stiff, his brow furrowed slightly.

I shot a glance toward Nox. He was seated at the table across from me that was void of people. He had his booted feet kicked up as he sat long ways on the booth bench. When he noticed my look, he grinned wickedly and waggled a finger. I bit my tongue so hard it nearly hurt. Nox was clever and he was an ass, but I had to hope one day he'd slip. But that was assuming Light was in fact Kira.

I knew that the Shinigami Eyes would solve this whole thing. I'd be able to pinpoint Kira within a heartbeat. I would just direct L toward them; encourage him to keep being suspicious and investigate them until he found proof. I had to wonder if making that deal was going to taint my soul like it would be if I wrote in my Death Note. Would I be cursed to purgatory? Either way, I'd be losing half my remaining lifespan. I was all for self sacrifice for the greater good, but... this was my soul we were talking about.

With a wave, I caught L's attention and he headed my way without another word to the hostess. Light apologized to her and thanked her before scurrying after. He was dressed rather nicely today. A collared shirt and tie with a fancy tan overcoat. L, however, was in his regular attire of long-sleeve white shirt and jeans. As the detective sat beside me, forcing me to scoot down, he kicked off his shoes under the table before getting into his perched sitting position.

"I trust you weren't bored while you waited?" L asked in English.

I grinned at him. "I had good company, actually."

L gave me a brisk nod and then gestured to Light as the young man sat across from us. "You remember Light Yagami."

"I do." I grinned at Light. "Thanks again for back at the station."

Light smiled a little, but it seemed forced. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I had no clue you were actually working with the world famous detective. Was that all an act, then?"

I winked. "I'm good at what I do."

"So then who are you?" Light peered at me as his smile faded.

"The most popular name I'm known as is ButtNugget69 and I wreck face on Overwatch. Sombra main, of course." Dear Lord it was hard to keep a straight face through that one.

L shot me a glare while Light just looked bewildered.

"I really don't know how to respond to that," Light admitted.

I laughed. Hard.

"We do have business to attend to," L said, getting my giggle fit to calm down. "Enough games. He can know the truth."

"I know that," I replied. "But that was priceless." I shook my head and wiped a tear from my eye. "All right, fine. I go by Jack. If you've heard anything about me, you wouldn't have seen my face or heard my voice. I use text to speak and the image of a Jack of Hearts playing card as my... insignia, let's call it. Much like this guy's letter L." I gestured to the detective beside me.

Light's face grew pensive. "I think I have heard that name. You're also known as the Cyber Detective, right? There was a whole scandal with this chemistry company in the states that were doing some very shady things. You exposed them."

Shady things was putting it lightly. The owner was a huge methamphetamine dealer. Like way huge. He was using his company to distribute the shit all over the entire southwest, even in Mexico. The Cartel was involved with the smuggling over the border. It was insane how far the roots went on this. Cops couldn't get anywhere with it, so finally a DEA agent I happened to work with before asked for my help. It was one of the more interesting cases I'd gotten my hands on.

"She's done much more than just that," L said. "Jack is talented and a critical thinker much like myself. She will be a valuable asset in helping us find Kira."

I glanced over at the detective. Had he told Light that we suspected him yet? I doubted it. L liked to drop his bombs one at a time. The shocker of telling Light who we are should be enough of a jolt for now. We could save giving away out suspicions later.

"So my father's met you too?" Light asked, turning his head toward me.

I nodded. "He's a nice guy. Bit of a bore. You should tell him to get out more."

Light laughed. "I'm not sure he'd listen to anyone on that note."

"Light, I'll be frank with you," L said. He leaned forward on the table. "I was approaching you because I want the three of us to get to know one another. Well, more so us getting to know you. We both work with your father and he sings praises of your intelligent quite often. How about we play a match of tennis tomorrow?"

"Tennis?" Light blinked. "Uh- I mean, sure. We can do that."

"You guys really have to pick in the most boring sport to watch?" I groaned, leaning back in my seat. "Why couldn't it have been hockey?"

"We can't play one on one in a game of hockey," L pointed out.

"Still would have been way more entertaining than watching a ball bounce back and forth." I gripped my cup of tea and chugged back what was left in it. "I might as well play some pong on the computer." I glanced over at L and noticed he had a stray hair hanging dangerously close to his eye. "Ah, hold still," I told him, delicately pulling it away and back with the rest of his unruly hair. "You really need to just keep a comb on you."

Light's eyes darted back and forth between us. "You two seem close. Have you worked on cases before together?"

The question instantly raised a red flag within me. L and I were already wary of letting anyone we suspected to be Kira believe we were attached to one another.

"Unfortunately," L said before I could open my mouth.

Ouch. I hoped that was just as a front to keep Light from thinking we were friends. But still, if the guy was going to be around us more often now, it wasn't like we were going to be able to hide that. Or at least I didn't think I could. There was something just natural about us being together at this point. Waking up and stepping out into our suite's living room to see L there, either popping sweets in his mouth or typing away on his computer, it was so... normal to me. I didn't think I could turn this friendship switch off.

"Wow, rude," I said, prodding him in the side.

"I suppose with your guys' line of work, you have to keep relationships all business and are skilled at acting," Light said. "All right. So tennis tomorrow it is, then."

I took this moment to sneak a glance at Nox. He was nearby, leaning on the wall near the booth. His posture indicated boredom, but there was something in his eyes. They were alert, and I could have sworn they were fixated on something. But then, as if he sensed me looking, they locked onto mine and he grinned.

"Looking for a slip up, Jack?" he asked with a sneer. "Be careful. You might just start seeing things you want to see."

I knew the bastard had a point. My mind had been playing tricks on me for as long as I could remember. If Light truly was innocent, I didn't want to chase after him for something he didn't do. Yet even now, sitting at the same table with him, I found myself thinking.

Too polished. Too perfect. It just didn't sit right with me. If this kid really was Kira, he currently wanted both L and me dead. I've faced death before. On three different accounts actually. And I was sure L had as well. But just the idea of someone who could threaten our lives sitting right there- so close that I could leapt across and punch him...

Odd, though. I had been around people threatening me before. Knew they wanted me dead and in one case had the means to kill me. But never before had I felt such a consuming sense of rage at the mere thought of it. Of course I detested people who would resort to murder. Detested those who would hurt others to gain. But this anger was something new. Something raw.

Then it clicked. I didn't feel this rage at the thought of Kira killing me. I felt it at the idea of him killing _L_. But why shouldn't I? L had helped so many people. He'd saved lives. He was the embodiment of justice. Here he was putting his life on the line to save others. What wasn't to admire about that? And yes, he'd become my friend. Something I didn't have a lot of these days.

"I will contact you with the details," L said, pulling me back to the present. "I merely felt a formal meeting with both of us before hand was in order. Do you have any questions?"

"I just..." Light slowly shook his head. His face was slack with disbelief and shock. "Look, I have loads of questions. But I honestly can't think of where to start."

"Well, think on it," L said. "We will see you tomorrow. Oh, and it would be best if you refer to us as our aliases. You understand, of course."

"Yeah, makes sense," Light said. "I just find it a little funny that you each have an alias for you alias."

"I've collected quite a few over my years," I said with a shrug.

"You don't seem that old, how long have you been doing this kind of thing?" Light asked as L and I stood.

I laughed and knew that L was curious about the exact same thing. "A long time," I said, much to the ire of both the young men before me, though neither of them gave clear signals to this. L just turned and began skulking out of the tea house. Light's brow merely furrowed slightly.

It was strange because in some ways, the two of them were very similar. They only gave the smallest hint of what they were truly feeling- if showing anything at all. They were both incredibly intelligent. And- assuming Light was indeed Kira... they both thought they were the embodiment of justice itself.

Most would look at the pair and see polar opposites. A groomed genius and a mad scientist type. One with perfect posture and manners. The other that slouched and disregarded common courtesy on regular occasion. I really had to think about what kind of person I truly was to look at these two people and immediately be far more comfortable with L. The strange one. The one that was somehow both incredibly mysterious and up front about everything. He was order but he was chaos.

But as we walked out of the tea house, I wrapped my hand in his and leaned over to kiss his cheek. His only reaction to it was squeezing my hand. It was getting easier and easier to touch him. To just be with him.

"It was nice meeting you again, Light!" I called to our third wheel as he stepped out of the building behind us. "I look forward to tomorrow. As boring as tennis is."

Light laughed and smiled. It was warm and gentle. It even reached his eyes. "Glad to hear it! See you then."

Watari pulled up in the sleek black car at that point. L opened the door for me. Ever the gent.

"See you tomorrow," L said to Light before sliding in after me and closing the door.

As we drove away, L immediately kicked off his shoes and turned his head toward me. His look was pensive. I cocked a brow at him.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"You're hoping he's Kira," L said.

I laughed. "Well... yeah. If he is, we can shut this down all the faster. But even if he isn't, I guess he will be a good asset to the task force. I just wonder... if he is innocent, how long is it going to take us to prove it? To move on and find the actual Kira? I'd hate to waste time on this if it's a dead end."

"I agree," L said. "But Light Yagami continues to be the only suspect we have. And his actions are only raising my concerns."

"Well, like I said, he _is_ too perfect." I looked out the window, watching the towering buildings of Tokyo flash by. "Handsome. Smart. Well groomed. Really nice hair, that's probably the most suspicious part."

"What makes you say that?" L queried.

"Someone that smart that puts that much effort into their hair every single day?" I snorted. "There are better things to invest time in."

"Is that why you keep yours so short?" L said.

I chuckled softly. "Partially. I also don't like the feeling of hair touching the back of my neck. I'd never have the patience to grow it out."

"The way you talk about Light seems to hint you fancy him," L murmured.

I snapped my head back around to see L wasn't looking at me, but instead out his own window. I pinched his arm.

"Ow," he grunted. "What was that for?"

"I just thought that you knew enough about me to at least guess my type," I said, folding my arms.

L peered at me. "Type?"

"Oh my Lanta, Ryu. Seriously." I rolled my eyes. "You're terrible at this. When you look at me, what do you see?"

L's eyes roved over me. My cerulean blue jacket. My jeans with the tears at the knees (self-earned, by the way; no way in hell did I buy pants with damage falsely planted on them). My old skater shoes with the worn soles. My satchel with buttons all over the flap, from cute little animal images, to random anime, to some TV shows I'd come to enjoy. Some just had curse words on them and a cute emoticon. Then my headphones he'd gifted me, insanely colored with wings.

"Something wild," L replied, his words slow and calculated. "Something that isn't afraid to play in the mud. Might like it actually. Something that can't be tamed."

I grinned. "And do you really think that something like me could possibly fancy such a clean cut polite guy like Light Yagami? Even if he isn't Kira?"

L shrugged. "I suppose not. Perhaps then you'd prefer a more ruffian individual?"

I tilted my head at him. "Are you trying to get a truth from me?"

"You're the one that brought it up. Now I'm interested. You say I should know enough about you by now to know your type." L squirmed a bit. He wasn't very good at car rides since the seat belt forced him to sit properly. "I'm just trying to see what I'm missing here."

"Honestly, it's practically like a case," I said. "You've had to have dealt with some where the killers murdered only specific people. Hell, we're on one right now. Kira kills criminals. That's his type. And people who try to stop him, I guess..."

"Hm." L started raising his thumb toward his mouth but I batted it away.

"Leave your nails alone, they've have enough to deal with from you," I scolded.

"You would want someone with a sense of humor, I would think," L said, not seeming fazed by my actions. "And some level of intellect."

"Yeah, can't be with a moron, that would drive me insane," I sighed. "And humor would be good. Humor is always good."

"But also someone who will put things into proper priority," L went on. "You complain about how perfect Light is, saying he puts too much effort on appearance. So you want someone who places their energy into other things that are, at least to you, more practical."

"Sounds about right." I nodded. There was a strange sense of dread tickling my gut. A small nest of snakes waking up and beginning to slither too and fro. L was reminding me of something. Someone. And whoever it was- it was like my body didn't want to realize their identity. That getting close to the revelation was too dangerous.

"Perhaps someone with quirks," L said. "Oddities like you own. They wouldn't have to be exactly the same, but something that labeled them an outcast as much as yourself."

"Are you calling me and outcast?" I perked a brow at him.

L smirked a bit. "I'm not calling you a stand up citizen."

"How rude." I lifted my chin. "I'll have you know that where I come from everyone loves me."

"And where would that be?" L tilted his head again.

I waggled a finger at him. "Ah ah ah! Nice try but no free truths for you."

"I feel like we should play the game tonight," L said. "Who knows when we'll be able to again."

"You're just trying to get more out of me."

"I won't deny that. Jack..." He turned his head toward me, dark gaze burrowing into mine. "I will not lie and say that learning more about you does not give me a personal gain. The competition we set when we first met is what still drives me. And you probably know I don't like leaving things shrouded in mystery. I know just about everything about everyone I work with. Except for you. If we had some more trust with one another, we might be a more effective team."

I shrugged. "I suppose that is true. But that road goes both ways, L."

His eyes burrowed into my own. "You really have the gall to say that?" His voice was low. Even. But coated in ice.

My eyes darted away from his. "I get that I know your number one secret. But in reality, I don't know you. I mean I do... but I don't. It's just so weird to be so close to someone yet so far. Have you... have you ever let anyone in?"

"Now you're asking me for free truths," L said.

I laughed. L tilted his head at me, frowning.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked.

I shook my head, wiping an eye as my hysterics slowly released my body. "I just think it's so weird. We talk about trusting each other. About how working together is going to be the thing to bring down Kira. And yet we make a stupid game to get truths out of one another. We can't just give them up for free. What kind of friends are we?"

"You still think we're friends?" L raised a brow.

I nodded. "Haven't we've been over this? Like it or not, Sherlock. All this time we've spent together? Hunting this killer? I mean how can two people not become friends on an adventure like this? Don't pretend like we're not. You make me royal milk tea just the way I like it. You know how much honey to add. To add a dash of vanilla when able."

Now L turned his gaze away from mine. "I suppose we have become companions of sorts."

"Oh don't dance around it, it's not so bad to admit attachment to another human," I said, elbowing him. "You care about Watari, don't you?"

Watari was up in front driving. But the vehicle had a slider concealing him from us both by means of sight and sound.

L sighed. "I'm not denying attachment, Jack. I'm just saying that we need to be delicate. If Light is Kira..."

"If Light is Kira, then us being friends might just work in our favor," I said. "He'll be our only suspect that is spending so much time with us. The only one able to see how much we get along. He'll also be the only one to know that you're L and I'm Jack. The only one that would know to snag one of us. If he tries something, he dooms himself."

"You were opposed to the idea when I suggested kissing as part of our act," L reminded me.

Warmth began to tinge my cheeks. "That's because I hadn't fully analyzed him yet. We didn't know what approach we were going to take. Look, the front we're using now is perfect. I don't see many public displays for affection in Japan anyway. But if we let Light in and allow him to see we actually care about each other, then if something happens it damns him."

L slowly nodded. "I suppose this is why I keep you around."

"Aw, and not my stunning good looks?" I batted my eyes at him.

L grunted and glanced away. "You're not attractive based on your looks alone, Jack."

Oh. Well. I wasn't expecting that answer. My cheeks heated. Did he seriously just call me attractive? And in one of the most wholesome ways he could? That was smooth as hell. But L wasn't the type to flirt. I didn't think he could. He merely stated facts. Which meant he found me being attractive a fact.

Seriously, how was someone so awkward so slick?

"Oh. Thanks, then," I muttered, my mouth dry.

"What would you like for dinner?" L said. "I can ask Watari to grab us something on the way home."

The sudden subject change took me for a loop. I blinked and tried to rack my brain. "Oh. Food. Yeah, uh... Dotour?"

"Again?"

"Their sandwiches are really good, okay!"

L's mouth twitched. A small smile. I grinned back at him. Yeah. Friends. Strange. I hadn't had one of those in a long time. I didn't feel that Austin counted, seeing as he was my brother. And everyone else that I'd dare to get close to... well...

No. I didn't want to think about that now. I just wanted to think about how my hand was in L's as we stepped out of the car and headed back to the hotel, bags of hot food being carried for us by Watari. About sitting down and enjoying some good food with the detective.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Nox said as we stepped into the hotel room. "In fact, I don't think I've seen you this... alive. Is it just because you're finally hunting down another Death Note? Or perhaps you like your new friend a bit too much?"

And as the Shinigami chuckled, I realized why I'd felt such a sense of dread when L was describing my type.

He had been describing someone an awful lot like himself.

* * *

 _L_

L pulled the three pieces of paper toward himself when Jack handed them over. They'd eaten in the living room area of the suite. She'd seemed a bit distant while she chewed on her favored sandwich. L wondered if it was merely because she was hungry. But that had never stopped her from talking with her mouth full before.

"If you don't want to play the game tonight..." he began.

"No, it's fine," Jack said, waving him off. "Go on. Read them."

L slowly looked down at the papers. He frowned. So far—other than the last time when she told him she'd been adopted—Jack had given her two lies and one truth under the same formula. Like "I've never eaten pistachios" with "I've never eaten apricots." But this time, the three sentences were very different.

"I started working with computers and learning about hacking when I was eight years old," he read. He looked to the second paper. "I've lost my father and two very close friends to murderers." Finally he went to the third. He stared at it for a long moment before ripping it up, his movements swift and efficient. He then went toward their fireplace and tossed the bits inside.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked.

"That's not something you should write down," L muttered.

He looked back to see Jack was smiling a little. Like she was amused by a child's actions. "And saying it out loud is better?"

L let out a long breath through his nose. "Is... that... is that the truth?" He gestured toward the fire.

Jack shrugged. "Actually... they're all the truth."

L stared at her. "Why?"

"Because it's like you said," she replied. "We need to trust each other. Now we're even. Well... actually it's tipped in your favor. I think you know more about me than I do about you at this point."

L padded back across the room and sat in his favored posture on the couch next to her. He looked at her from the corner of his eye. Her green eyes were wide and flickered with the reflection of the flames across the room. She almost seemed scared.

"You didn't have to," he said.

"We've been over this," Jack replied with a small laugh. "I know that. I wanted to."

L's hands gripped his knees. He itched to bite his nails but knew Jack would just smack him. The fact that she worried about his health... Most people just worried about him doing his job properly. Solving the cases they threw at him. But Jack... she continued to amaze him.

"It's a very... pleasant name," L told her.

Jack grinned. "To be honest, I've always hated it. It's why I took on the nickname. My brother started calling me Jack when I was little. I had complained to him that no one at school could pronounce it. He told me I'd better just make it easier then."

"Jack does suit you more," L said. "I don't know why exactly. It just does."

Jack shrugged. "My boyish nature?"

L grunted in amusement. "Perhaps."

"Listen, L..." Jack was looking at her feet. She'd kicked off her shoes and now her socked feet worried one another. "When this is over... when we catch Kira... I think I'll have another case for us. Something small. Nothing life threatening. It'll be fast with the two of us working together."

L raised his brows. "Another case? Judging by the look on your face, it's personal."

"It is," Jack said. "It's... a really long story, ya know? I'll tell it to you one day. I think I'll tell you everything one day." She smiled then. It was gentle and carried something akin to sadness. "I hope you'll feel you can do the same with me. Someone like you deserves a person they can trust. Someone besides the guy who raised you."

L blinked. He knew that Jack knew his name. But he didn't know just how much about his past she'd managed to dig up. He still didn't know how she found information on him in the first place.

"It actually is kind of obvious, for someone who pays attention," Jack said. "I've spent enough time around you two. The way you interact isn't exactly father-son stuff, but there's a connection there. A protectiveness you each have for each other. I know about Whammy House, so I guess that kind of helps me see it, but still..."

L nodded. It only made sense that she knew about the orphanage he grew up in. That had to be the only place that had any record of his true name. But all the same, how she got it astounded him. Wasn't she in California the entire time they worked on their first case?

"Anyway." Jack waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. "Enough sappy crap. I just wanted to say all this before we had a third wheel around."

L eyed her for a moment. "I have some questions, if you don't mind."

She shrugged. "I can't guarantee that I'll answer any of them. But I'll hear you out."

"The murders..." L began slowly. He saw it in her eyes first. A flicker as her gaze went down toward her socked feet. "What happened?"

"Well..." Jack took a deep breath, exhaling it through her nostrils. "The two of my close friends were the ones who were killed first. I was sixteen. My father is the one who taught me about computers. Austin, too—uh, that's my brother. I learned quickly. By that age, I was already hacking a number of devices besides just computers. I would hack my game systems, my cell phone... Anyway, because I was ahead of nearly everyone at school, only a few of the other kids would hang out with me. Being too smart isn't cool, ya know?"

"Your friends, I'm assuming," L said.

Jack nodded. "Yep. A boy named Troy and a girl named Clementine. They were a couple eventually. Only took them all of middle school to figure out they were destined for each other." She smiled again, this time it was warm and content. No doubt she was looking back on memories of these friends. But that smile slowly faded. A candle flickering out. "Look, maybe one day I'll tell you what happened in details. But for now, let's just leave it at this. Their deaths was my first case. It's what got me into what I do now. I was the one who found their killer. Not the police. Not the justice system. Me."

L had never seen such rage in Jack before. Her cheeks were flushed, her jaw clenched, cords straining on her neck. It didn't seem natural. None of this did. Jack was so cheerful. So laid back. To see her eyes veiled in the shadows of both loss and fury was like seeing the sun rise in the west.

"I see," L said. "I won't press the matter if you don't wish to talk about it. I'm glad that you caught their killer at least."

Jack nodded stiffly. "I appreciate you not pushing," she murmured. "I'm going to have to ask you to keep to that after I say what happened to my father. I'm not ready to talk about it in full yet, L. But I think you deserve to know at least a piece of it."

L couldn't help but lean a little closer to her. She knew him well enough to know what she had to say was going to peak his interest highly. She wouldn't ask for him to not push otherwise. He wanted to promise her he wouldn't. It's what... it's what a friend would do. And Jack was his friend. Someone he actually didn't mind spending time with. Someone that he found fascinating and amusing and...

Her eyes looked like leafs right then. Ones that had just bud in the spring. Brilliant and vibrant. Her hair, though he knew it to be dyed, was perfect for her. Wild and bright. The sky above the trees in her eyes. She was the Earth, walking and so full of life and will. She was loud, but that was the thunder of a storm. She was mysterious, but that was the depths of an ocean. Wondrous and infinite.

L had never looked upon another human being and felt like he did when he looked at Jack. And that worried him. Was her presence too much? Was he going to slip up and get distracted by her very being? He couldn't let that happen, not with a case like this one. But at the same time he knew she was helpful to him. Almost vital if he wanted to take down Kira as fast as possible.

So yes. He accepted that they were friends. That he cared about her. But when Jack said her next words, he felt every single instinct in his body straining to leap on her for answers. To dissect her like he had any other witness or suspect.

"My father..." Jack said, her voice a weak murmur. "He is the one that lost his life to a heart attack. And I know for certain it wasn't natural causes." Her eyes darted toward the corner of the room. Again, she was looking at something L couldn't see. Looking at something that she was assessing. Weighing. It was too direct of a stare. Finally, her gaze found L's again. "And it wasn't Kira."


	13. May I Say It?

_Jack_

"Jack, what the hell!"

I kept my eyes fixated on L's despite Nox's bellow. I knew I was taking a huge risk with this. I knew that Nox might very well kill me here and now. But hopefully, if I see him start to write something, I'll have at least forty seconds to tell L everything I could before my own heart revolted against me.

While Nox was fuming, L was staring. His eyes had widened, his lips pursing slightly. I could see the scream in his gaze. He wanted to know. He wanted more. He wanted answers. I had just told him that there was someone else in this world that could do what Kira was doing. That the power wasn't limited to just our current target. It was vital information for someone like L. He wanted to know all the variables. All the pieces to this complicated infinite-piece puzzle.

"I..." L said. There was strain in his voice. His entire body was tensed. "Jack..."

"I know you want to ask," I said. "But I can't tell you. You know I wouldn't keep anything from you intentionally. Not if it could help with the case."

"You idiot!" Nox shouted, making me flinch.

"What?" L's face faltered to one of concern for a moment. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just an ear ache." I really wanted to shoot Nox a glare for that one but refrained. "I think I might have a mild infection or something."

L's dark eyes roved over me. Searching. Analyzing. "Jack, I know you would tell me everything... if you could. I don't know what it is that is preventing you or what you think is preventing you from sharing all your information, but believe me when I say that I can and will protect you."

A warmth blossomed in my chest. I wasn't typically the damsel in distress type of gal, but all the same his words touched me. I knew L would do everything he could to defend the innocent, but the way he said those words made me feel special. It was though while he generally kept his shoes and other valuables up off the floor where the dog couldn't chew on them, he put me up on one of his shelves. One where everyone could see me and he kept me well dusted.

The only issue was that no matter how much L wanted to defend me, he couldn't. Not against Nox. Not if the Shinigami really and truly wanted to kill me. The typical criminals were the dog. Kira was a cat that just might get up on that shelf and knock me down if we weren't careful. But Nox? Nox was the tornado. The thing that would come and rip out everything.

"I know that," I said. Truth be told I was actually a bit surprised he picked up on the fact that I couldn't tell him some things. That I was holding back information, but not exactly willingly. "But it's like I said, L. I'm telling you everything that is possible right now—that's necessary. Regardless if there even is information I'm holding back... we will stop Kira. I promise."

L continued to stare at me. I was growing wary under his gaze. He wasn't exactly satisfied with that answer, that was for certain. But after a long moment, he loosed a breath and turned his head away. "I understand. I just hope you know you can trust me. With anything."

"Of course I know that." I smiled. "This is just... it's not something I can talk about."

"Did you catch the person who did it?" L's voice was delicate. He was fishing more more information but at the same time he also... cared. He wanted to know because if I hadn't caught the one responsible, he was going to. I knew it in that instant—in the glint in his dark gaze. L would hunt down whoever killed my father and end them as surely as he would end Kira.

Of course, I was about to burst his bubble.

"Yes," I told him. "And that's why we can't lose against Kira."

L studied me for a few heartbeats. He knew I was telling the truth and he was dying to ask how, but he also knew I'd said all I was going to say tonight.

"We will make other times to talk," I said. "With Light here I mean. I know you want to keep an eye on him. But there's always Watari to look to him while he sleeps and we can chat." I grinned again. "I promise, L. One day you'll know everything."

"May I say it?" L suddenly asked.

I blinked. "Huh?"

L's eyes flicked back and forth between the two of mine. "Just once. I'd like to say it."

It clicked.

"Oh." I let out a light laugh. "I mean... only if I can say yours."

L immediately looked uncomfortable. My grin became wicked.

"Your willing to risk my ass but not yours?" I said.

"Fine," L said. "Go on then."

I had never actually said his name out loud. Austin hadn't even said it out loud. He wrote it down and sent a photo that I deleted right away and ensured he did the same. Truth be told I wasn't sure how L would feel knowing there was actually a third person in the world that knew his true identity.

"L Lawliet." I whispered it softly, holding his gaze all the while. A strange look passed over his features. It was like he had just tasted a food for the first time and was trying to decide if he liked it or not.

"Jacqueline Townsend," he murmured back.

It was odd. My name sounded almost pleasing when he said it. Like a song. Like something out of a fantasy.

"We certainly like to hide things in plain sight," I said.

L let out a small grunt of amusement. Not quite a laugh or a chuckle. But he still smiled for a brief moment. "I suppose despite all our differences, we're actually quite alike."

"That's typically how friends work." I nudged him with my elbow.

Us doing that—sharing our names in a world where that could get us killed—it was like we had made a pact. It was the ultimate way to show trust. The ultimate way to bond. We knew the key to each other's lifeline in this case and neither of us would ever betray that. I might have initially cheated to get L's name. But in this moment I didn't regret it. It's what led to this. What led to us working the most important case either of us ever touched. What led us to becoming friends.

His words when he was trying to guess my type floated back into my head.

 _"Perhaps someone with quirks. Oddities like you own. They wouldn't have to be exactly the same, but something that labeled them an outcast as much as yourself."_

 _Aw hell._ Was this really happening to me? Was I really starting to look at L and feel butterflies flutter around like a swooning girl in a romcom? I'd dated before—sort of—but I'd never been attached to those boys. I'd never stayed with one for more than three months. I'd never... Well. That was beside the point. I doubted L had either. He was like me... he carried oddities like my own... an outcast.

"Listen up, Jack," Nox growled as he stalked toward me. "You better get an excuse to go to your room because we need to talk. _Now_."

I shot the Shinigami a short glance. I hoped it held all the venom I felt for the bastard in that moment. He wasn't going to stop me from helping L with this. He wasn't going to stop me from finding Kira and destroying his Death Note.

"Well, I think I've had enough excitement for one night," I said, getting to my feet. I began to walk toward my bedroom, but L caught hold of my wrist.

"Jack," he said.

His touch sent a jolt throughout all my limbs. I didn't want to go down the cliche route and compare it to electricity—but what else could make someone's body seize up like that?

"What is it?" I asked, doing my damnedest to keep my tone normal.

L wasn't looking at me. His eyes were shadowed by his hair.

"Thank you," he murmured.

Heat clung to my cheeks. "For what? And I swear, if you say everything, I'm punching you in the mouth."

L chuckled. He actually chuckled. I don't think I'd ever heard him laugh. "I promise not to be so cheesily predictable," he said and tilted his head back, letting me see his face and his eyes held mine. He was smiling. It was a soft and gentle look to his face. "I appreciate you trusting me."

"Who else better to trust in this world right now?" I shrugged. "I think our game can end, L. When you feel comfortable telling me about yourself, do it then. I won't force it from you sooner than that."

"I'll try to do the same for you," L replied.

I raised my brows. "Try?" I echoed.

His smile turned into somewhat of a smirk. "I'm curious by nature. But for you I think I can at least attempt to refrain."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, well thank you so much, then."

"Jack," Nox snarled. He was looming by my door, waiting for me.

"I might take a bath before bed," I said. "That is, if you let me go."

L glanced down to see his hand still attached to my wrist. He released it swiftly. It almost seemed like he'd forgotten it was there. Was he too so used to us touching and mingling with one another that it was just second nature now?

"Very well," L said. "I will wake you in the morning."

"Hooray for early morning tennis," I said as I walked toward my room. "I'll probably just fall right back to sleep. Insomnia or no."

"Goodnight, Jack."

I looked back and smiled at the detective. "Goodnight L." And I closed the door.

Nox wasted no time.

"Are you INSANE?!" he bellowed.

I flinched and waved him off, heading for my bathroom. I would be able to talk to him more freely with the sound of the bath filling to cover my voice. Once the water was flowing, I turned to see him blocking the way out of the bathroom. He was so tall, the top of his head brushed the frame of the door.

"What were you thinking?" Nox demanded.

"I didn't tell him enough to do any harm," I defended. "Nox. One way or another, L is going to find out about the Death Note. I don't understand why you won't just let me tell him."

"Because that isn't what I need to have happen," Nox snapped. "The Shinigami King does not like unrest in the human world. He doesn't like knowledge of us just being thrown around. That is why humans lose their memory of us when they lose their Death Note."

"Then why come to our world at all?" I asked, throwing my hands up with exasperation.

"We need your years to live," Nox replied, his voice finally lowering. He seemed to be calming down. "When a Shinigami writes a name in their Death Note, we steal that human's remaining lifespan and add it to our own. There are some Shinigami around that have lived since the beginning, but they're so old they've decayed in a different sort of way. They are shells of what they used to be. No memory of the early times. Of why Shinigami exist in the first place."

Nox loosed a long breath and leaned against the counter near the sink. I sat on the edge of the tub, watching him.

"I want to know why Shinigami live. What our purpose is," he said, his tone soft. "Why do we have the gift to siphon life? What is the point in living forever if all we do is steal lives before their time is up? It isn't like we're the ones who end it when a human's lifespan hits zero. We aren't some shepherds to the afterlife or judges of a human's deeds while they lived. We don't decide if they go to heaven or hell. We just take and live and that's it."

"So that's it?" I whispered. "All this time, you're just looking for something humans do all the time? The meaning of life. Huh..." I shook my head and scoffed a bit. "Nox, no one knows why we're here. There's faith that guide some people, and that's fine. But no one knows for absolute certain why humans exist or what we're meant to do. It sounds like your kind is the same way."

"But you humans have a cycle," Nox asserted. "You live and die—you can't do anything to change the fate of your own lifespan- not without the help of a Shinigami. You gain companions throughout your years, repopulate, learn, travel, enjoy experiences. We can't make more Shinigami- it's impossible for us to have children. We hardly get along with one another. We have no purpose other than to prolong our lives but for what?"

"Has any Shinigami actually died?" I queried.

"Yes," Nox said. "A good amount for a number of reasons. Some just stopped writing names in their notebooks. Others got attached to a human and wrote a name in their notebook that helped prolong that human's life. That instantly kills the Shinigami. And all their remaining years go to the human they saved. Others killed humans without using their notebook. This is a high offense that the Shinigami King sees to being punished in the most severe regard."

"But Shinigami can't be killed by a Death Note," I guessed.

Nox nodded. "That's right," he confirmed. "We're immune. Much like yourself. At least to mine. Can't tell you for sure about the others. This Kira guy might still very well be able to kill you if he gets your name."

I glanced back at the slowly filling tub. When Nox first came to me to give me the Death Note, he had told me its previous owner had attempted to kill me with it. But the idiot only knew my last name, and my nickname Jack. He assumed I was using an alias for my first name. So he tried to write my name in the notebook- he wrote down seven different names with the last name of Townsend before he was hauled away and the Death Note was left without an owner once again.

Spelling someone's name incorrectly four times in a Death Note rendered the potential victim immune to killed by it. Unless the name was spell wrong purposefully, Nox had told me. If that was the case, the Death Note would still be able to kill that person, and the one who had written in it would die as a result of trying to use the notebook's rules to their advantage.

The man who had my Death Note before me was Victor Skor. He had been a dirty businessman that had stolen millions of dollars throughout his years. When he came upon the notebook, he realized he could easily kill anyone who got in his way.

My father had been one of those people.

"I guess I'm still trying to wrap my head around this," I sighed. "You want to find the meaning of Shinigami existence. So you've been letting humans use your notebook in various ways. And now here I am, refusing to actually use the notebook, and trying to stop another human from using a different one- how- how does this help you?"

Nox pinched the bridge of nose. "Variables, Jack. I need to try everything. And when will I get another person who refuses to actually use the Death Note, but keep it? You involving anyone else could compromise that."

"Are you saying L would want to use it?" I gaped at him. "Are you kidding? You don't know him at all- even after all the time we've spent with him? He would never kill anyone, even if Kira confessed who he was and gave him a gun to point at his head."

"But would he use it to save thousands?" Nox asked. "If he knew who Kira was but didn't have the means to physically catch him, why wouldn't he just end it by writing down a name?"

"Why wouldn't I?" I crossed my arms, glaring at him.

"Because every time I suggest you use the thing you get the same look in your eyes," Nox said. "You claim that it's because you don't want to taint your soul. To doom yourself to purgatory. But I know you, Jack. Using the notebook, at least to you, would be cheating. You thrive for challenges. And killing Kira like that wouldn't take any effort at all, not once you knew who he was. You want to catch him the old fashioned way."

Well then. I couldn't exactly defend myself from that one. Nox had a point. Certainly, I didn't want to screw up my standing with heading upstairs when I died, but killing Kira like that... was just too easy. I had to admit, that was a factor. But there's was more to it than that. Something Nox wasn't getting.

"There's a third piece," I told him. "Nox, I will _not_ kill anyone. Not with the Death Note. Not with a gun. Not with a knife. I don't want to be someone who causes life to just stop. I'm not like you or your kind."

"For the record, we do it to live," Nox pointed out. "But I suppose I can see that in you. Odd. It is in human nature to kill. You lot don't do it as much as you used to—at least not so freely—but deep down, all of you have that instinct."

"Ability to control one's instincts is what separates us from beasts," I said. I let out a long sigh and looked at him up and down, frowning. "I don't see why you just won't let me tell him."

"The more people who know of the Death Notes the harder it makes it for us Shinigami to come here," Nox explained. "The Shinigami King would limit us to only coming to the human world to kill, and we wouldn't be able to leave our notebooks with anyone. That would limit me on my endeavor. So I'm holding onto the possibility that you'll be able to stop Kira without telling L the truth. Until it is out of my hands completely will be the only time I won't kill you for him finding out. You got me?"

I turned off the water. The fan in the bathroom was on, so that helped mask a bit of sound. But I still spoke softly as I responded. "Fine. I get it. Now get out, I'm getting cleaned up. No being a perv."

Nox rolled his eyes. "We can't even divulge in those kind of acts, Jack."

"So?" I scoffed. "I didn't let my roommate's cat watch me undress, I'm not about to let you!"

"Yeah, yeah," Nox said in his gravelly voice. He waved me off as he headed for the door. "Just don't pull something like that again, Jack. I don't know how many times I gotta say that I don't want to kill you." He glanced over his shoulder, an ice blue eyes glaring at me. "But you bet your ass I will."

Then he walked through the door, vanishing from sight.

I exhaled a tight breath as I began to unzip my hoodie. When I bathed, I put my iPod on speaker so my music could still be with me. I placed my winged headphones on the counter next to the device as music pumped out of it. After shedding the rest of my clothes, I slid into the hot water.

It instantly began to soothe my muscles. They had been held tense for way too long today. I knew revealing that much to L was a long shot. I almost expected Nox to write down my name then and there. I would not be able to get away with something like that again. Not unless I found a golden opportunity when Nox wasn't there.

Something clicked. I reached over to the counter and grabbed my iPod. I made certain to hold it over the edge of the tub, away from the water in case it slipped from my damp hand. I opened up my notes with some deft flicks of my thumb.

My message was simple.

 _SHINIGAMI EXIST!_

I saved it and exited out of the notes, placing the iPod back on the counter. Nox wouldn't have any need to look through that. I wasn't sure if he could. I knew he could pick up apples and eat them, but would the iPod recognize his thumb? In any case, now was the time to think of a way to get L to read that message and hopefully, if he believes it when he sees it, he'll realize that one had been with me all this time and if he says anything obvious it'll probably kill me.

It was my daytime iPod, so it would be with me when I was with L. However, getting the message to him would be tricky and might very well end in my death. For now, perhaps I shouldn't worry too much on it. The tennis match was tomorrow. It would prove interesting to see how Light performs, both in the game and and in demeanor. We didn't know for certain if he was the right one to pursue. It would be awfully annoying if it turned out he wasn't Kira. We didn't have time to waste.

But all the same...

"Any truth is better than indefinite doubt," I murmured.

More Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Perhaps it wasn't the best thing to mention here. That author hated his main character, Sherlock Holmes. He was able to write the man to seem so brilliant by tricking the readers. Holmes didn't make people feel like idiots because of things they couldn't possibly have known, but because he pointed out things they _should_ have known—should have _seen_. In a sense, Doyle saw Holmes as a sham.

L and I couldn't afford to be shams here. We had to be the best we could possibly be, and hope to everything it would be enough.

* * *

 _Light_

Light Yagami sat before his new desktop computer, his head reeling. That couple had indeed been more than they seemed. Much more. One thing was for certain, they were working for L, and if that young man—Ryuzaki—was to be believed, he _was_ L. It was an ingenious move, regardless if the man was who he said. It completely took Light off guard when he leaned over after the ceremonies and whispered in his ear.

"I want you to know," he murmured, his voice low and fast, "that I am L."

Light hadn't known what to say. The man's alias was Hideki Ryuga, a famous pop star. If he tried that name in the Death Note and accidentally pictured the icon in his head and killed him instead, that would doom him. Even if Ryuzaki was his true name and he was merely working for L, using that name would doom him too. Whoever this guy was, he had Light right where he wanted him.

Then there was the girl—Nina. Or Jack, as she confessed herself to being. Light had heard of another detective type like L, but Jack mainly stuck around North America. Sometimes in Europe. This was the first time Light knew of Jack putting a hand in something in Japan—or any country that didn't speak English. She'd given the impression her Japanese wasn't very good, but Light wasn't too sure about that. In fact, there was always the possibility _she_ was L. It was plausible that the persona of Jack and L were the same person.

Of course, the way each of them had handled known cases was vastly different. L was calculated. He followed through with challenges presented to him with fluid accuracy and critical thinking. He deduced most of his findings then charged after them. But Jack...

From what information Light had gathered online so far, Jack dug up her condemning evidence by means of technology. Hacking, bugging, surveillance... In the case Light was reading up on now, she actually berated a man into giving himself away. She got into his emails, his websites, his company database, and harassed him with messages claiming that she knew exactly what he did. She put out names and dates of things that didn't make sense until one saw what the man was actually guilty of.

The man's name had been Victor Skor. He was the CEO of an American multimillion dollar insurance company known as Century Lock. He and a few members of his board committed a level of fraud that nearly outdid Bernie Madoff. It was a typical Ponzi scheme where Skor claimed his business was doing well and increasing in stock market value to have more people purchase shares. In reality, the business was crumbling, and Skor was only paying back people for their shares with other people's money. He essentially promised huge returns where none existed.

An employee of the company was one of the first to notice the scheme. He kept it on the down low at first, wanting to gather evidence. He entrusted four other employees to assist him. These five were higher up in the food chain within the company, so to speak, but not quite on the level of Skor's board of directors. And their involvement in uncovering Skor's thieving wasn't even known until after a certain cyber warrior twisted Skor so much that he exposed himself.

Light scrolled down the page, his eyes darting back and forth as he read the article.

 _People had heard of the Cyber Detective, Jack, before. He always communicated via text in emails and notes and always left the image of the Jack of Hearts playing card as his signature. He'd helped with police investigations of all kinds, including but not limited to murder, kidnapping, robbery, and even uncovering a dog fighting ring. However, the case of Victor Skor and Century Lock was the first one that really made Jack famous._

 _It wasn't known in detail of all that Jack did to expose Victor Skor's Ponzi scheme until he confessed everything in court. The first thing they were aware of was Skor running through the streets at two in the morning in nothing but his boxers, screaming for Jack to come out and face him. He was reported disturbing his high end neighborhood and the police arrived to bring him home or detain him, under the impression he was under the influence of alcohol._

" _We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into," Officer Jerry Benoit claimed. "When we got there, he was just sprinting through his neighbor's garden, bellowing for someone named Jack."_

 _Three officers arrived on scene including Benoit. When they began to approach Skor and ordered him to cease his wild actions, it only kicked things into overdrive. Skor took off running back to his home. He managed to outpace the officers and got into his house and close the door before they could stop him._

" _Even our tazers couldn't reach him," Benoit claimed. "I hear talk he used to run marathons all the time, but we weren't prepared for him to just run off like that."_

 _Skor took to the second floor of his home and from out the front facing window, opened fire on the officers below before they had a chance to knock the door down. Officer Sandra Adams was killed and Officer Edward Gillen was severely wounded. Benoit managed to avoid any shots and was the first to get in the house._

" _The door had so many locks on it," he said. "It was no wonder we couldn't get through. I ended up going through a side window after breaking the glass."_

 _Benoit managed to detain Skor when he went upstairs and ordered him to drop his weapon while holding a pistol on him. Skor had used an assault rifle to attack the officers, but when faced with Benoit and a gun to his head, he complied._

 _Later on in court, Skor gave a full confession to everything he had done. This included not only the murder of Officer Adams outside his home, but to three other employees that had nearly exposed his fraud earlier that year. Police had been astonished that Skor had managed to kill and hide the bodies of each person months apart and hid their disappearance from the public. He had bribed other workers to claim they saw them on a regular basis at work, and two of them bore no close family. In total, five employees had been working together to show Skor for the thief he was, but none of them had lived to see the day._

" _Only had to kill three of them," Skor had confessed at his hearing. "The other two did it for me."_

 _The five employees were Alexandra Rivers, Dale Sims, Levi Fisher, Tanya Biggs, and Shaun Townsend. Skor confessed to the murders of the first three. Rivers and Sims both died from strangling and Fisher had appeared to have passed away by natural causes. However it was later speculated that Skor poisoned her, though he never explained how; he only claimed to be responsible for her death. Meanwhile, Biggs had died in a car accident a mere two months prior and Townsend had suffered a deadly heart attack a month before that._

 _Skor stated that Townsend was the one who caught on first and organized the others to start gathering proof. It was later discovered that Townsend used to be part of a secret service, but details on that were restricted. Townsend was third employee involved to die._

 _As far as Skor's breakdown, hints to its origin were given at his first arrest, when the station that took him in received an employee-wide email with a Jack of Hearts playing card and a simple message: "You're welcome." Skor later explained in court that he had been receiving emails from someone claiming to be Jack, the Cyber Detective. He stated that at first he didn't believe the person was who they claimed. But then his computers both at home and at his place of work, received viruses that made them do, as he put it, "Obnoxious shit."_

 _Skor stated that the oddities his tech did at first was very subtle. Some might not have even noticed. But Skor claimed he was an organized individual that liked things to be a certain way. He would find that his desktop shortcuts would be moved one over or swapped with another or deleted all together. Then certain programs started showing pictures for a fraction of a second before opening properly. Skor said when he finally managed to pause and see the image, it was that of a Jack of Hearts playing card._

 _His computers began to do more severe things, like shutting down at random intervals, deleting any documents he had just spent hours working on, and even freezing up to play a video of a kid playing a kazoo every five minutes one day. Skor finally responded to the emails, telling the sender to stop or he would press charges. Jack then responded by sending a photo of the first employee Skor had killed and claimed the CEO would go to the police, but it wasn't going to be to turn Jack in._

 _Skor explained that Jack continued to send messages and mess around with his computers over a month. He sent photos of each of the five employees that had attempted to expose him and told Skor it was only a matter of time before Jack finished what they started. Jack even began to send messages that confirmed he was watching Skor everywhere he went, even to the point of stating that leaving out pickles on a burger was almost as horrific as his murders._

 _Driven insane by Jack's constant assault of berating and threatening, Skor sprinted out of his home in the middle of the night after receiving yet another email from the Cyber Detective, and this is what led to his arrest and furthered his kill count. The three employees that Skor killed were eventually dug up and it was found that each of them had been strangled to death._

 _The emails from Jack to Skor were never recovered, as the hard drives to all Skor's computers were wiped by a virus shortly after his arrest. Other than Skor's word, we've no idea what was actually said to cause him to act so rashly that night. But Skor did confess he wanted nothing more than to kill Jack just like he'd killed all his other victims._

 _Skor was charged guilty on several accounts, including fraud, embezzlement, first degree murder on three accounts, and second degree murder of an officer. He was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole and fined 1.2 billion dollars—which isn't even half of the cash he'd managed to gain with his scheme._

Light finished reading with a deep frown on his face. It was fascinating in itself that Jack had managed to get this man to out himself in the end. It could be that she hadn't been able to gather the proper amount of evidence in the right way- after all, America was like Japan in the fact that all evidence founded without a warrant was void in court unless the crime was outrageously severe. Although, over 50 billion dollars in loot seemed like a pretty extreme crime. On top of three- now four- murders.

But one thing did catch his attention. With the three employees Skor confessed to killing, it seemed that with the last one he got more creative than just strangling. But why didn't he explain how he did it? He didn't seem to have an issue telling the jury about everything else. It seemed that Jack had effectively cracked him.

And then, of course, there was this Shaun Townsend. He'd died of a heart attack before he could see through his plans to expose Skor. Light glanced over at his Death Note. Confident the cameras and wiretaps were out of his room, he had taken it out to scribble down a few names before doing his research on L and Jack's known feats.

Perhaps it was just coincidence. That the man just happened to die that way. But the woman before that went in a car accident. Further research concluded she's seemingly blacked out while driving and ran smack into a guard rail on the highway, causing her to flip her vehicle and her head to be crushed. Then there was Fisher who passed on in his sleep from something no corner could figure out. Poison was possible, but Skor refused to confirm nor deny that. He merely told everyone he did it. He killed him.

Light pressed a hand to his forehead. Could it be possible this man had a Death Note at one time? That he'd gotten it after he'd killed the first two employees and used it to kill the other three? Its seemed odd he'd leave the heart attack kill as the last one, and for the one who he claimed started it all. If he truly had a notebook, why would he start with someone passing away quietly in their sleep?

Opening another tab on his internet browser, Light did some more research, this time on the victims of Victor Skor. Each led seemingly typical lives, save Shaun Townsend. The man, as many articles Light found stated, was revealed to once be a part of a secret service of some sort. Details were classified but he was definitely involved in some form of law enforcement. He left behind a wife and two children, but Light could not find a single piece of information on them. Not their names, their pictures—nothing. Even Townsend's personal info wasn't listed. Not where he lived or where he came from, not even his own family lineage.

It was almost as if someone had gotten in and erased all mention of Townsend outside this case. Perhaps it had been his previous employers with that secret service of his. But that still didn't make much sense.

Light released his mouse and leaned forward on the desk, placing his fingers in a steeple and pressing his lips to his thumbs. There was something about this case. This case in particular that held something of aught. It was the main case that got Jack so infamous in the North American region. What made police trust him—or if Nina was believed to truly be Jack— _her_.

There was a method Light could use to figure out if Nina truly was Jack as well as possibly pry more information from her. Victor Skor yet lived. He had been a criminal that Light hadn't gotten to, hadn't really known about until now. He'd been in prison for nearly a year. Sure, initially his crimes were white collar, something Light didn't delve into too much, but he had killed people in cold blood to cover his tracks. He deserved to die. If Light killed Skor, and in a gruesome enough matter that it caught the eye of the media, perhaps Nina would react properly.

However, that was also a huge risk. The fact that the Cyber Detective Jack was working with L was not public knowledge. From what Light had managed to see of his father's police records, it wasn't even listed in there. So the only ones who could possible know of Jack's involvement was the task force and Light himself. If he suddenly targeted and killed Skor in such a fashion, L would certainly grow even more suspicious.

Light shook his head. As it stood now, killing Skor was too much of a risk. He had to at least let some time pass first. That way if he did kill him, he could make it seem that it wasn't related to him just discovering Jack was on the case as well. And besides... Skor might be useful alive. Light wanted to know more about this case. If Skor truly did use a Death Note... and it was Jack who caught him... there was a chance she knew of the notebook's existence.

That wouldn't bode well at all, and in fact, it would make her a primary target for Light to kill- even over L.

"Aren't you going to go to bed?" Ryuk snickered from the corner of the room. He had an apple in his hand. "You have a big game tomorrow, remember?"

"Of course," Light replied coolly. "I just wanted some more information on this new player on the board..." He swiveled in his chair to face the Shinigami. "You acted strange when that couple showed up at To-Oh. You can't deny that. Tell me, Ryuk..." Light leaned forward, propping his arms on his knees and glaring at the death god from under his lashes. "What did you find so interesting about them?"

Ryuk took a handsome bite out of his apple. He took his time chewing it and swallowed loudly when he was finished. He leered down at Light, unfazed by his glare. "I really don't know how many times I've got to tell ya, Light. I'm not helping you."

Light slumped back in his chair, running over all his next possible moves. Ryuk not telling him helped as well. It meant that whatever he saw was important. That revealing it to Light would give him an advantage. Perhaps their names? Or was their something more? Did something change in one's name and lifespan that appeared to a Shinigami if they'd touched a Death Note before? Could Shinigami tell if someone had handled one of the notebooks by other means? Were they permanently marked in some way?

He itched to ask Ryuk, but he had a feeling that it would get him no where. Ryuk probably would just offer up the Shinigami Eyes again, and that wasn't a deal Light was going to make. He wanted to be around to rule the world he was building.

"Fine," Light sighed, shutting down his computer and heading over to his bed. All he could do for now was rest and focus on this tennis match tomorrow. Once that was over, and he was able to observe Ryuzaki and Nina more, he would decide on his next move.


	14. Go on Ryu! Give'r!

_Jack_

I hated early mornings and L knew it. So part of me both hated and adored him when he knocked on my door to wake me at 7AM and had a hot cup of royal milk tea in hand for me.

"This doesn't make me a morning person, you know," I grumbled at him as I took the cup.

"I wouldn't expect it to," he responded as he headed back into the living room. "There's waffles, if you'd like."

I went over to the couch and collapsed into the cushions, though gently enough so as not to spill my precious beverage. "Why do we have to do this game so stupidly early?"

"Because this is more than just the tennis match, if you recall," L said. He was piling some waffles on his plate. "Cute pajamas, by the way."

I blinked. I hadn't expected a compliment out of L regarding anything physical, let alone for what I was currently wearing. I glanced down at my PJs. It was a one-piece flannel footsie suit, red plaid with hearts on some of the black squares. I adored them for how cozy they were, since I loved to sleep in chilly rooms but buried in blankets and other sources of warmth.

"Thanks?" It came out as a question.

"No need to sound so surprised." L began to drown his waffles in syrup. "You have a way of pulling off clothing that is too big for you."

"I suppose that makes two of us," I said as I gathered some of my own waffles.

L glanced at me. "Oh?"

"Your white shirts are all baggy, but strangely enough I couldn't see you in anything else. You own that plain look very well," I said, grabbing some butter. "It has a strange sort of broody hotness about it."

Now it was L's turn to blink. "Broody hotness?" he repeated.

"Haven't we've been over how you're handsome in that broody sort of way?" I asked him.

L let out a small grunt. "I suppose, but I thought you were joking..."

Oddly enough, the detective seemed somewhat uncomfortable. He began spooning whip cream on his plate, avoiding my gaze.

"I have a very specific tone when I compliment someone sarcastically, L," I said. "You'd know it. What's so wrong with you being attractive?"

L still wouldn't look at me. "No one has ever called me such before. It's just... different, is all."

I could have sworn there was a hint of pink to his cheeks. I felt the happy little frog give a hop in my gut again. I bit my lip and focused on pouring a modest amount of syrup on my waffles.

"Could be because you don't show your face too often," I pointed out after a small awkward moment of silence. "Or let anyone get close enough to you to feel comfortable with telling you."

"I've seen the typical male that people find attractive and suitable," L murmured. "I am not like them. But it hasn't been in my interest to change that."

"Well, maybe I just have a different type than most people."

The words were out of my mouth before I realized it. L's head snapped around to look at me and heat flared to life in my cheeks and ears. I swallowed hard and looked down at my plate, weighing what I'd just said. I'd practically told L he was my type.

 _Well, fuck-a-doodle-doo._

I scrambled to find a way to back pedal out of this. To play it off like I hadn't just hinted at the fact that maybe I was starting to fancy the detective—if just a small bit.

"I suppose anyone is attractive to someone," L finally said. When I glanced his way, he was cutting into his waffles. "So, you remember the plan for after the tennis match, correct?"

Never had I ever been so grateful for a subject change.

"Of course," I chimed, letting confidence flood back into my voice. I grinned. "It will be interesting to see what comes up. Still wish you guys picked a less boring sport to play, though."

The weather in Japan had gotten a touch warm with the new season. Part of me missed winter with her icy breath and fluttering snow. I liked the bite of cold. It was fresh and clean. Warmth was sticky. It brought sweat and took away my favored hoodies, but at least it wasn't too far into the year to where it was sweltering out—not that Japan got as bad as other areas when it came to heat.

When L and I arrived to the tennis court, there was an actual crowd waiting. I grinned at the sight.

"I wasn't expecting an audience," L murmured.

"Light has fans," I explained softly as we approached. "I ensured his classmates knew of this match. It will be more interesting to observe how he plays with people he regularly encounters watching, don't cha think?" It was a good variable to add, that was for sure. "I'm not sitting with them, though," I added.

L let out a small breath of amusement. "I wouldn't expect you to. Pick wherever you like, so long as you get a good view."

 _So behind you then._

The thought went through my head before I could stop it and my mouth was even opening for the clever remark. I managed to snap my jaw shut before my tongue could betray me. I told myself it was just a silly joke, but as we approached the court and L stepped a bit ahead of me, I couldn't help but sneak a peak.

L was in his typical white shirt and jeans. He wore runners on his feet which I knew he wasn't too comfortable with. I wouldn't put it past him to try to play barefoot if he could. His shirt was almost long enough to cover his backside completely and the jeans were a bit baggy. Impossible to really make out if there was a nice ass hiding in there.

"See something you like?" Nox teased. The Shinigami was floating along behind us and his tone carried a snicker.

I shot him a glare before focusing my attention back on the court. It would be a touch awkward if the detective looked back to catch me checking him out. It truly was odd. Like L had pointed out, he wasn't a textbook definition of handsome, and yet more and more I kept noticing things about him that I liked. That I found attractive.

This was an incredibly dangerous road for me to go down—on several accounts.

"Ah, Ryuga, Nina."

My eyes darted around to see Light approaching us. He was in far more appropriate attire for this match than L. He wore an athletic jacket and pants. His racket was already in his hand, ready to go.

"I'm glad you made it," Light said. His voice and smile seemed genuine. He was speaking English, probably under the impression it was for my benefit.

"I suppose watching tennis first thing in the morning isn't horrible," I sighed, lacing my fingers behind my head. I decided to keep to English too. "I could have been in a nice warm bed, dreaming about wrecking face in the zombie apocalypse."

"Nina is not a morning person," L explained.

"It's ten?" Light said with a laugh. It almost sounded like a question and he tilted his head at me.

"So what if I like to sleep in?" I grumbled.

Light laughed again. His eyes were lit with amusement, and he seemed tickled by our dialogue.

 _Too clean_ , I thought. _Too perfect._

"Shall we get started?" L said, gesturing to the court. "A single set, I think. Whoever wins six games first."

Light nodded and the two of them headed past the gate. I remained behind, frowning as I contemplated where to sit and watch. After a quick glance around, my eyes caught sight of the tall chair the referee would sit upon. Or whatever the heck they were called for tennis.

I grinned.

* * *

 _L_

L bounced the yellow tennis ball on the ground, catching it within his hand a few times. This test he was compiling wasn't exactly perfect. But considering both he and Light had been champions in tennis one time or another, it seemed like the best non-violent competition they could endeavor on. There was always chess too, he supposed, but that almost seemed too easy.

The thing was, whether or not Light won this match would not truly help L discover if he was Kira or not. If L was to go by his idea that Kira was a sore loser, and Light won the match out of spite for losing, it could mean he was Kira. But if he didn't win the match, it could be he intentionally lost in an effort to not appear suspicious. Again, that could mean he was Kira.

But the main point of this was to watch Light's behaviors: watch how he did under pressure, watch—

"Go on Ryu! Give'r!"

L turned his head and blinked in astonishment. Jack had climbed up on the chair that the umpire sat upon. Said umpire was indeed seated in it, but Jack was positioned behind him, her feet in the ladder like slats and her hands on the back of the seat. She was beaming down at them, and to L's surprise, the umpire didn't really seem to mind. As L watched, Jack leaned down and murmured something in his ear which resulted in him laughing. Hard.

"Your partner certainly is a handful," Light noted.

"She simultaneously loves and hates the spotlight," L replied.

Light cast L a smile. "Well, she is a charmer. I suppose with looks like hers it isn't hard."

Something twinged in L's gut. He wasn't entirely certain what it was or how to describe it accurately. It was perhaps akin to a snake bite, swift and vicious, on his intestines.

"Why does she call you Ryu?" Light inquired further. "Is it short for Ryuga? I know she called you Hideki back at the station. I figured she was comfortable enough with you to address you informally."

"Ryu is a nickname from her, yes," L replied. He didn't bother mentioning it was from another alias though.

"It's sweet how you let her call you that," Light said. "Do you have any nicknames for her?"

L had several. But none that he stuck with or any that Jack knew about. There was always the infamous name she'd received: Cyber Detective. But when L thought of her... there was Annoyance. Hack. Stubborn Brat. Intriguing. Priceless...

"Shall we?" L said, deciding not to answer Light's question and keeping a straight face as he gestured to his opponent with the ball.

"Of course." Light was still smiling. "Your serve."

* * *

 _Jack_

The tennis match was intense, which wasn't something I had been expecting. L and Light moved like dancers on the court; their movements were fluid and calculated, and their hits were even, like one stroking a paintbrush. The crowd watched with bated breath as the two went at it, the ball going back and forth, back and forth. Even I found myself leaning forward over the ref's shoulder, eyes wide, not wanting to miss a single thing.

This wasn't just a match. It was obvious for me to see that both L and Light were sizing one another up. Testing each other's limits. Even if Light wasn't Kira, he surely would want to see what L was made of. If the detective had what it took to take Kira down. Part of me wished I could contend with Light in a similar fashion, but I was absolute shit at sports—even hockey much to my brother Austin's dismay.

I wasn't familiar with tennis or it's score keeping. But every time the ref gestured to L when the ball hit outside the lines on Light's side of the court, I could at least follow enough to know he'd gotten a point. There was a lot of "Fifteen Love" and "Fifteen Thirty." Every so often I would lean down between plays and double check with the man, (his name was Aoi and we both agreed that Ghost Hound was a terrifically terrifying anime and manga), who was in the lead. It kept switching. A very close game indeed.

When the crowd started murmuring and staring with even more excitement, I had a feeling the game was coming to a close. Currently, Light was in the lead, but when I asked Aoi, he told me there was still a chance L could pull ahead in a tie.

I had to be honest with myself. I wanted L to win. It was probably an obvious assumption considering my stake in this. If L won, and if he won without Light purposefully throwing the game, I wanted to see how Light reacted. I wanted to analyze him like I did with code—like I did any time my fingers touched a new piece of tech. If Light was Kira... if we were this close to ending this madness...

I leaned forward, narrowing my eyes, and waited for the perfect moment.

* * *

 _L_

L's arms were beginning to get tired. But he could see Light was getting out of breath as well. They were very closely evenly matched. L wasn't going to let up. It could very well be Light was more skilled than him at tennis, but the entire point was to see how Light did under pressure.

He hit the ball back to Light's court, aiming delicately. Light darted to the side and caught the ball with ease, sending it bouncing back at him.

 _"Well, she is a charmer. I suppose with looks like hers, it isn't hard."_

L blinked rapidly, trying to drown out Light's previous words. He hit the ball back over the net. Once again, his opponent met it with ease.

 _"Nina is a very special girl, you're lucky to have her. I wouldn't let her out of my sight again if I were you."_

 _Why now?_ L's thought was bitter. As he stared at Light, watched the young man's movements and actions, all he could think of was his words about Jack. His comment to him back at the train station... his words from before the game... Why was it when the game's deciding point was on the line that he couldn't clear his mind of that?

"Ryu, watch out!"

L felt his heart thud in his chest, felt his attention reawaken and refocus. He looked forward and saw the ball was just about to hit the ground for a second time. He dove and—

The ball bounced off his racket. L hit the ground, but he ignored the pain in his hands and knees, scrambling to his feet to intercept the incoming ball back from Light's side of the court.

"Point!" the umpire cried out. "Thirty thirty! It's a tie!"

The ball never came back. Light was sighing as he went back for the ball that had gotten past him. L glanced over and up at the umpire's seat to see Jack beaming at him. If she hadn't spoken up and snapped him out of his daze, L would have lost the game just there.

"A tie it is then," Light said. He smiled over at L. "You're very skilled!" He spoke in Japanese. "It seems your partner looks out for you. That's a good thing to have in a relationship of any kind."

If Light was still under the impression that Jack couldn't speak Japanese very well, it seemed odd that he wanted to state this without her understanding what he said. Like it was a message to L himself.

"It was a good game," L replied. The crowd was dispersing from the stands, exchanging excited comments with one another about the match. The umpire descended from his seat and Jack with him.

"More intense than I expected it to be!" she said in English as she approached. If she heard Light's words from just a moment ago she didn't show it. "You guys somehow made the most boring sport watchable. Ah—no, I suppose the most boring sport would be golf."

"Much like golf, you're not really meant to speak out during game play," L told her.

"My bad." Jack shrugged but looked completely unashamed. "So, tea, right? You guys must be thirsty. I'm actually pretty hungry, could go for those waffle cake things. Oh, later Aoi!" she called toward the umpire in Japanese and waved at him. He grinned and waved back.

"Making friends?" L asked as the three of them headed toward the street where Watari would pick them up.

"Always." Jack's grin was wicked.

L let out a small breath and returned her with a light smile of his own before he could think about it. He redirected his eyes and attention ahead of him, wiping his face clean of emotion. Light already implied he knew they were close. Jack had told him before that in the end it didn't matter—if Light was Kira he'd be targeting both of them no matter what. But even still, the very thought of Kira targeting Jack purely to get to L... it would practically make it L's fault.

"You can speak Japanese?" Light asked.

"Is that really a surprise?" Jack responded in Japanese and wriggled her eyebrows at him. "I'm actually fluent in four languages. So, drinks?"

"I was going to suggest the same thing," Light said, switching to his native language now. "I have questions for you both."

"I would assume so," L replied. "You can ask us whatever you like. But Light, I would like to tell you something before hand."

Jack's eyes sparked a little as she looked toward him. She knew what L was going to say next, and she was just as eager as he was for the result. L set his gaze back on Light.

"We suspect that you, Light Yagami, are in fact Kira," L said, his lips curling somewhat. "Now, if you still wish to ask us knowing that... go right ahead."

Light blinked, his face slack with shock for a heartbeat. Then he let out a small laugh. "Me? Kira?"

L shrugged. "Well, when I say 'suspect' I'm talking about a factor of one percent. What we're really hoping to do is confirm 100 percent that you are; A: not Kira, and B: you have incredible skills with deduction so that we might ask you for your help with the investigation."

Light was silent as he crouched to put away his tennis racket, so L went on.

"In any case, there are too many people here to talk about it openly," he said.

"Like a tea house!" Jack suggested with a wink.

"I know of a coffee shop not too far from here, they serve tea too. I really wasn't expecting an audience at all today," Light said, glancing toward the crowd that was still cheering and babbling about the match.

"Let's get going then," Jack declared. "Which way, Light?"

"This way," Light said, and he began to lead them away from the court and toward the street.

As they walked, L glanced toward Jack. She was walking with a small skip in her step, as if she were bouncing to the beat of the song in her right ear. After their conversation the night before, he knew there was something she wasn't telling him. She confirmed it. But now that Light was going to be with them more often, L had no clue how he was going to pry that information from her.

Jack was a case in her own right. She always had been, ever since the Detective Wars. If he was ever going to solve her, he'd have to deal with Kira first. And he had to ensure both of them got out of it alive. Something tightened in his gut. Yes, he hated losing. But this... if Kira took Jack...

"Do you like royal milk tea, Light?" Jack asked.

Light blinked and looked over at her. "Uh, it's all right, I suppose."

Jack frowned at him then looked to L. "Pretty sure he's a synth."

"What?" L and Light said in unison.

Jack shook her head. "Play a video game sometime. You call yourselves nerds."

"I can't speak for Ryuga, but I've never really considered myself—" Light began.

Jack responded with making a fart noise in her hand.

L's mouth twitched with something akin to smile but he forced it away. "Jack, I think you constantly forget that you're an adult."

"Growing old isn't an option," Jack replied, placing her hands on her hips. "But growing up? Nah, screw that shit."

L shook his head, another grin trying to fight its way to his lips. Light, though he had looked completely insulted when she interrupted him earlier, let out a chuckle.

"Are you sure you shouldn't go by Joker instead of Jack?" he asked her.

Jack's face fell. "Aw heckin' heck, why didn't I think of that?"

L knew why, but he commended her acting. In fact, as he ran his gaze over her, he was aware of a warmth growing in his center. Admiration, perhaps? Jack called them friends. He supposed he could get behind that. And no matter what was to come—what Kira tried to do or accomplish—he would make sure they came out of this. Both of them.

* * *

 _Jack_

Light chose the coffee shop we went to. We sat at a booth toward the back, L and I on one side, Light on the other. Once we received our drinks and the waitress left, Light opened the conversation.

"This is one of my favorites coffee shops," he said with a smile. "If you sit back here, no one can hear what you're talking about. And no one will scold you for sitting like that."

I chuckled a bit. L had already kicked off his shoes and he was sitting in his normal perched position.

"True..." L murmured, slowly raising his thumb to bite the nail there.

I smacked his wrist without taking my eyes off Light. "He can't sit any other way."

"Why is that?" Light seemed amused by our interaction, but it was clear he was more interested in L.

"If I sit the way other people do, my reasoning ability drops by forty percent," L answered. He only shot me one glare for smacking him. "In any case... Light, does the fact that I told you I'm L and she's Jack tell you anything?"

Light took a moment to sip his coffee. My own royal milk tea was still too hot to drink. I gently blew air on its surface hoping to drink its sweet nectar sooner rather than later. At the same time, I focused on Light in my peripheral vision. Acting calm and uninterested might put him at ease. Might make him slip up.

"Let's see," Light finally said, his voice low and calculating. "It means you have some hope that I can help you solve this case. And... that even though you've both told someone you suspect to be Kira, you won't be killed. Or you've taken some steps to ensure you won't be killed. Which means although the news states that Kira only needs to know how someone looks to be killed... it could be he needs something else."

I grinned. "Look at him go," I murmured to L.

Light seemed a bit embarrassed. "I mean... it just makes sense. And given the alias you—L—chose... Hideki Ryuga is a famous man, one whose face and name is known by practically everyone in Japan. You made it a point to use a name like that. So given that, I can only conclude that Kira needs a name as well as a face."

"Correct," L said. He was gazing at Light unblinking. I know I would be uncomfortable with that kind of stare on me. Like L was trying to pry Light apart bit by bit—dissect him.

"You're saying I'm right, just like that?" Light asked, incredulous.

"Why should we hide the fact that you're right?" I asked before attempting to take a sip of my tea. "GAH!" Still too hot. I set it down and fanned my tongue. There go a fair number of my taste buds.

"Be more patient, Nina," L scolded me softly before turning his attention back to Light.

Light let out a small breath. "Well, the possibility that you two are who you say you are is incredibly low."

"Why is that?" L asked.

"If I was L, or Jack, I would reason it would be enough to have doubles approach me and tell me they're L and Jack. The real L, and Jack too now, I suppose, needs to stay someplace safe at all times. Even when they've worked with the police, they've never revealed themselves."

"I see," L said. "You are correct that anyone calling themselves L puts them in great danger. And why would he come out into the open now when he's never done so before? It would be stupid for the real L to do such a thing. Not to mention showing you Jack—or even if this isn't the real Jack, making you aware that she is working on the case as well. This is knowledge that the media and the majority of the police aren't even aware of. So why show my trap card? Seems so foolish."

Light examined him for a long moment. He shrugged. "Well, I do believe there is a chance you could be who you say you are."

"Oh?" I blinked. "Do tell."

"Well, I would assume most people would think that L and Jack are much older than the two of you. And not to mention more... detective like or hacker like... you two are just too out of character to be a convincing fake. So you must be real."

"And what are the chances that L chose us?" L queried.

"Hm." Light sipped his coffee again. "I suppose there is a chance of that. When you start second guessing and third guessing like this, it's endless. I have to admit, I'm getting pretty confused." He laughed then—a genuine cheerful laugh.

"Since this is basically an interview to see if we can request your help on the case, I suppose it would be rude to show you nothing at all," L said. "Nina, the papers, if you would."

I gave a nod and pulled up my satchel. Opening the flap, I suddenly became hyper aware of the fact that my Death Note was right here—hidden in my bag. It was on my lap and the person who could very well be Kira was sitting across from me.

For a brief and very insane moment, I thought about pulling it out. Just slapping it on the table and seeing what Light would do. But that wouldn't end horrifically for me on several accounts. Nox would kill me—and even if he didn't, if Light was Kira and didn't give it away straight off, he would then know my trap card. The ace up my sleeve. No point in showing my hand. Not yet.

Instead, I drew from the bag a large envelope and plopped it on the table before Light.

"Take a gander," I said with a grin.

"This information has never been made public," L added as Light opened the envelope and pulled out its contents. "I'd like you to tell us what you make of them." The detective leaned forward and tapped the top page. "This is a list of the twelve FBI agents Kira killed. It's in order of when they received the file and when they died. And theses three..." L pointed at the three photographs. "These are pictures taken of notes three victims left shortly before they died. We believe their actions were being controlled by Kira."

"Make anything out of that FBI list?" I prompted.

Light looked over the paper. His expression didn't falter one bit when these were shown to him. Pity. I sipped my tea, which was finally not surface-of-the-sun hot. Too bad some of my taste buds were missing out of the delightful beverage.

"Hmm," Light murmured. "What's this file you say they received? I can't make sense of this."

"Oops, sorry," L said, scratching his head. "It's a file containing all the names and photographs of the agents so they could each know who the others were. The day they received this file, they all died."

I sipped my tea again. Trying to play dumb, huh? Well, that is, if Light was Kira... L and I were hoping to get him to slip up, but we also knew the level of intelligence Kira had shown so far. He wouldn't be likely to fall for anything juvenile. However, my theory was if we went after him in obvious ways, it might make him mad. If he was Kira and he thought we were under the impression that Kira was stupid enough to fall for simple traps, it could easily hurt his ego.

And one thing I knew for sure about Kira was that he had an ego large enough to consume the world. We just had to stop it from happening.

"Well in that case, Kira needed to know what the agents looked like, as well as potentially their names. This file contains both. They all died the same day they got the file... it's possible Kira used this to kill them," Light said.

"Makes sense to me," I said with a shrug. "What about those notes?"

Light turned his attention to the photos. "Theses are very interesting..." he said, voice low and intrigued. "If it's true that Kira can not only kill people but control their actions before they die, that's pretty amazing... It looks to me like he could have dictated these notes. Especially since they contain a hidden taunt to L."

L and I both waited, watching Light as he laid out the photos.

"If you look at the first word of each line, they form a sentence—or rather, a question," Light pointed out. "The order that makes the most sense would be... let's see... 'L do you know gods of death love apples?' The backs of the photos have print numbers, however." He pointed at the back of the photos as he flipped them over for a moment. "If you put them in that order... it reads: 'L do you know love apples? Gods of death.' I can't imagine that Kira would want L to read the message like that."

L was silent for a moment, merely holding Light's gaze. Finally, he said a single word: "Incorrect."

Light blinked. His face fell into complete surprise, jaw slack. "Huh?"

"In fact, there is a fourth note," L said, rummaging in his pocket. He then produced a fourth photo to Light.

It was hard to keep my face straight. Light was not prepared for that one. In fact, he almost looked... irritated. Betrayed. However soon his face masked over as he gripped the fourth photo L handed to him.

"If you add that to the others, it then reads: 'L do you know love apples? Gods of death have red hands." L's face was completely unreadable.

Light stared at the photos for a few heartbeats, eyes flickering back and forth between them. L and I both watched him carefully, waiting. L had thought of the plan to introduce a fourth message to change the sentence—one that Kira never made. The tactic was simple. If Light detected the initial message quickly, it could mean he was Kira or just had the high level of intelligence they knew him have. But if he questioned the fourth message... if he acted weird about it—well...

"Okay, well, if there were only three notes, my reasoning was flawless," Light finally said.

"No," I scoffed. "There were four—figuring that out would have made your reasoning flawless." I gave him a shit-eating grin. "One might even think that you decided there were only three notes—and never thought of the possibility of a fourth."

Light's eyes squinted just a touch. Was that anger? But then he was back to normal.

"I guess you're right," he said. "I didn't think of that. But either way, I don't think this note will help you find Kira. I mean, Shinigami don't even exist."

Nox let out a low laugh.

I couldn't look back at the Shinigami to see if he was acting oddly or looking at something I couldn't see. He still hadn't given any hints to whether or not Light had a Death Note and a Shinigami of his own.

"All right, suppose you're L," L said, looking Light over. "What would you do to expose Kira?"

Light grinned a bit. "I would try to make them say things that haven't been reported. Things only the real Kira would know. Just like what you're trying to do, Ryuga."

"Very good," L said. He gripped his knees, worrying the creases of the denim between his fingers. "I have asked a number of detectives the same question. They usually take a few minutes to respond. When they do, it's typically something like, they would get a well known criminal and put them in the same room with the suspect, watching from a hidden spot. But you, Light... you were able to instantly think of it from the perspective of Kira talking to an investigator."

"You are good," I said. "I'll give you that, Light."

"Brilliant, even," L added. He looked over Light with that piercing black gaze.

Light laughed nervously. "You make it sound like if I do too well, I'm under even more suspicion."

"Indeed," L said. "It' s up to three percent now. However, this also increases my desire to have you help with our investigation."

"To be honest, you did guess right, earlier," I put in. "Ryu isn't the only one around calling himself L."

"But even if you are Kira, I want your assistance with this investigation. Do you understand my logic?" L asked.

Light closed his eyes. "If I help you, it moves the case forward. If I'm Kira, I might slip up and betray myself. In other words, you're killing two birds with one stone. I think it's a brilliant idea."

"Pretty slick," I said with a nod. "You catch on quick."

Light's eyes snapped open. Now the anger on his face was showing. "I want you two to know you've got me all wrong. Yes, I have an interest in the Kira case—especially in solving it. But I'm sure as hell not Kira and I sure as hell don't want to get myself killed. I'm not going to help someone I can't trust and end up getting killed by Kira. I'd rather think about the case on my own. Besides—how do I know neither of you are Kira?"

He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms. His amber colored eyes were flared with annoyance.

"We're all in the same boat right now. Think of this from my perspective. How is it fair you get to question me, but I don't get to question you?" he demanded.

"I mean, you can ask me anything," I said. "I just gotta warn you, I'm prone to frivolous lies."

"All right, fine," Light said. "Why are you investigating Kira? And in person here in Japan? From what I know about you... you stick to North America and a few European countries. And even then, you worked with the police and other investigators electronically—never actually showing yourself. With Ryuzaki, I understand why he's here since he's worked cases all over the world. No offense, but he does have more renown than you."

"Nah, I get it," I said, looking Light over. "Well, it's honestly the biggest case there is—that ever was. I mean Kira has a hefty amount of kills on his K/D record. He has more than any other serial killer known in history. To bring him in would be bombin'! And he's not just effecting Japan. Western countries have been targeted too." I shrugged. "I love a challenge. And I feel like I can take Kira down. With Ryu's help of course."

I winked at L and put my arm around his shoulders and squeezed him a bit. He didn't seem to even notice my physical contact. He kept his eyes on Light.

"You have concerns, Light?" L asked.

Light let out a huff of breath. "Anyone looking over at us sees three college students. They would also say that you, Ryuga, would be more likely to be Kira than I would. None of us can prove we're not him. If you are really L and Jack, you should be able to prove it. I should be able to talk to someone I trust—one of the officers or even my father—and they should be able to confirm you're who you say you are. Or that you're on the task force. And if you tell me you can't do that until you prove I'm not Kira, then I guess we can't work together."

Holy crap Light talked a lot. I exchanged a small look with L. It was true—Light didn't seem to like to lose. Just like Kira.

"I never said that you couldn't meet with the task force," L finally responded.

Light looked startled. "What?"

"We're working directly with your father and other members of the task force right now," L said. "Am I correct in assuming if I take you to meet the task force, and they are able to calm your suspicions, you'll assist with the investigation?"

Before anyone else could speak, L's phone began to ring from inside his pocket. The detective frowned.

"Excuse me," he said, reaching for the small device. Even as he did so, Light's phone began to ring too.

"Huh, what are the odds?" I murmured as L flipped open his cell and answered.

"Ryuzaki speaking," he said. There was a small pause. "What's happened?" L asked, his tone now more urgent.

"Hello?" Light answered his own phone.

Both of them tensed up at the same moment. I darted my eyes back and forth between them, feeling like I was being left out on an inside joke. Then L spoke.

"Light," he breathed. "It's—"

"My father," Light finished, his eyes stretched wide. "He's had a heart attack."


	15. Piss It

_Austin_

"Piss it..."

Austin Townsend glared at the monitor. Before him was a blue screen with text sprawled across the entire thing. Getting into this mainframe was much more difficult than he expected. He leaned back in his chair, trying to think of another path he could take—another algorithm.

There was a small blip from the phone in his pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it open with a flick of his wrist. It was from someone named Clyde in his contacts—a text message.

 _Found her._

Austin stared at the message for a long moment, his heart beginning to accelerate. He dashed his thumbs across the keys in a response: _Where?_

He only had to wait a few moments before Clyde replied: _Email._

Forgetting the computer before him, Austin pushed away from the desk, rolling in his chair across the room to where his suitcase was. From it he drew out his laptop, swiftly pushing it open and booting it up.

Jack. That damned girl was impossible. Almost a full year ago she sent him an email saying she was going to leave. She stated her line of work was getting to be too dangerous, so she was going to cut herself out of everyone's life—including his, her own brother.

It infuriated Austin. His own job was just as dangerous, if not more. He couldn't even tell Jack what he did or who he worked for. So perhaps that's why she thought he was safer without her. She had no clue how he put his ass on the line on a regular basis.

Once the laptop was running, Austin opened his email and saw Clyde already sent him something. He clicked it without hesitation. It was a number of attachments—pictures, records, and a message from Clyde himself.

" _A,_

 _I tracked the names you gave me and also did a bit of research on the list of shows you provided. While I couldn't find anything with your current list of names, I did find records of a 'Nina Forner' traveling to Japan almost four months back. According to records, her passport was Canadian. There haven't been any records of her leaving Japan, but I did manage to get the picture of the passport from the airline's database._

 _If you need any additional assistance, let me know. But don't forget about the work we need to do for the agency. If that's late for any reason... even one as personal as this... I don't think they'd be too happy._

 _Best, C."_

It was her all right. Her hair was black and shoulder length, but Austin knew his sister. That was a wig, and whatever was beneath was some wild color like pink or purple. Possibly both. Regardless of the different look, he'd recognize Jack anywhere. In addition to the photo, there was also the documents of her boarding the plane in LA and flying over to land in Tokyo.

Japan. Austin had a hunch, but he wasn't certain that Jack would go after the Kira case, especially with L working on it. Austin almost felt knowing the detective's real name was far more sensitive than anything he ever worked with for the government. L was powerful and had many, many contacts. If he knew someone out there was aware of his true name, Austin was positive he'd send all he had at that individual.

Which of course meant Jack could be in danger from more than just Kira. She had wanted to find out L's name because of a competition she'd gotten into with the detective. Austin only agreed to assist her because she was his sister, and he wasn't as cautious as he was now. Jack always gloated when she won at something. She always loved to showboat. She definitely would have told L she knew he name.

What in the world was she thinking? Even if she was trying to assist L from afar and by her usual methods of email, hacking, and text, there was a strong chance that L tracked down where she was in Japan. She'd been there four whole months... what if she met him? What if she realized how easy it was for Austin to give her L's true name?

Austin shook his head. He would not allow himself to think of that possibility. He glanced back at the blue screen glaring at him from across the room. He still had a lot more work to do for his current job. He couldn't exactly up and leave right now. But still... knowing where she was, finally...

"Piss it..." Austin murmured again.

Things never could be easy. Not when one carried the name Townsend.

* * *

 _Jack_

I hated hospitals.

As we entered the main lobby at a slight jog, I wanted to advert my eyes from the blinding white floors and walls. I wanted to flee from the stench of rubbing alcohol and latex. However, there was no escaping any of that. I turned up my iPod in my pocket, centering in on the music in my right ear.

 _You're not here for you, you're not here for you, no one is going to poke or prod you, it's all right._

"Nina?"

I jumped, heart stammering in my chest. L and Light were over by the doors that led deeper into the hospital. They were a good way away from me. I must have zoned out and not noticed when they got the nurse's attention to lead us to Chief Yagami's room.

"Sorry!" I said, bustling after them.

It turned out that though Yagami suffered a heart attack, he survived. Which told me that Kira was not the one who did this—at least, I was fairly certain it couldn't be. I wanted to check with Nox to make absolutely certain first, but either way, when I first heard that, my first thought was: _Then there's no way Light can be Kira._

And I was _disappointed._ I wasn't upset about the fact that Chief Yagami, who had been nothing but a pleasant gentleman to me, had been struck with a heart attack. No, I was upset because his death would definitely lower the possibility that his son was our target. We'd have to start all over to find the true Kira.

It honestly disgusted me. What kind of person am I to be more concerned about solving this case than the life of one of my fellow investigators? Was I that desperate to beat this challenge? To find and stop Kira? I'd like to think it was more noble—that my subconscious knew that the sooner Kira is stopped, the fewer lives would be lost.

But somehow I seriously doubted I was thinking that last one.

Then we found out Yagami wasn't even dead. He was in the hospital recovering, and seemed stable. I inflated with hope once more. My heart skittered with excitement because if this wasn't Kira, then Light was still very much a suspect.

We rushed down the hall for the Chief's room. Light looked out of it—distraught and flushed with anxiety. He seemed like he had no idea this was coming. Something in his eyes almost appeared fearful. If this was acting, it was damned good, I would admit that.

When we finally reached the room, Yagami was awake and lucid, and a woman that I could only assume was his wife was sat on a chair next to the bed. Yagami was hooked up to loads of machines—an oxygen tank, heart monitor, IV, the works. The reek of rubbing alcohol and rubber was even stronger in here. I parted my lips slightly to breathe as quietly as I could through my mouth.

"Dad!" Light cried in Japanese, rushing toward the bed. "Are you all right?"

Yagami nodded. He looked exhausted, sporting circles under his eyes that could almost rival L's. "I'm fine, Light. Thank you for coming. I see you've met Ryuzaki and Nina."

"Ryuzaki?" Light blinked and looked back toward L.

"Another alias," L explained with a wave of his hand. "Chief Yagami, is there anything we can get you?"

"Oh, my wife and the nurses have been quite accommodating, thank you," Yagami replied. "I'm sorry to worry everyone. To get a heart attack right now... I believe it was just the stress."

"Stress?" Light echoed, raising his brows. "Dad, Kira kills his victims by giving them heart attacks—how do you know he wasn't trying to kill you?"

"We've not seen a failure yet," I pointed out. "It seems whatever method Kira uses to kill is very thorough."

Light turned his head to eye me. "So what if we haven't seen a failure? My father could be the first! Maybe he's somehow immune."

"That's not something we should count on," L said softly. "It isn't worth your father's life to take such a risk."

"I suppose that's true," Light admitted. His eyes were still squinted and he appeared conflicted.

"To be honest, the same thing went through my mind when it was happening," Yagami said.

"As the head of the task force against Kira, it wouldn't be a surprise that he would want you dead," L pointed out. "We can't rule it out."

Sachiko Yagami, the Chief's wife, looked like she was about to cry. She was a pretty woman, with dark hair that reached her chin and beautiful eyes—Light's eyes, actually. Not to say Chief Yagami wasn't handsome in his own right, but it was easy to see where Light got his beauty.

"I don't think we've met." I said to her, hoping to calm her before the waterworks started. "You must be Sachiko. Ryu and I work with your husband on the task force." No point in hiding that fact from her, but she didn't need to know we were L and Jack.

"I see," Sachiko said. She managed to smile, though it was small. "Thank you for coming."

"Sachiko, Light's here now. You should go home and rest," Yagami insisted. "I'm fine. And please don't tell Sayu, I don't want her to worry."

"I... all right," Sachiko sighed. She stood up and gathered her purse. "I'll be back tomorrow with some of your things. Be sure to rest." She looked toward Light. "Keep an eye on your father, Light."

"Of course," Light said. "Don't worry, Mom. Just try to relax at home."

With that, Sachiko left the room. L, Light, and I settled ourselves in some fold-out chairs. L of course sat with his knees up to his chest. I crossed one leg over the other and draped an arm over the back of my seat.

"Do you think it was Kira, Chief?" I asked.

Yagami sighed. "No. I don't. With how many sleepless nights I've had thinking Kira could kill me at any moment... and all the stress of this investigation itself... I was practically asking for it."

"Having your own son under suspicion must be an emotional strain as well," L murmured.

Light blinked and snapped his head around to glare at us. "You've told my father I'm under suspicion?"

"Yes," L replied evenly. "We've told your father everything. Including the fact that I'm L and Nina is Jack."

Light looked back to his father, eyes wide and questioning. Yagami nodded.

"That's right," he said. "He is L and she is Jack. We've been calling them Ryuzaki and Nina, but... they are definitely L and Jack."

Light's eyes came back to us. His brow was furrowed. I grinned and held up two fingers: V for Victory. He sighed and bowed his head.

"So it's true then," he muttered.

"Ryuzaki... Nina... has talking to my son cleared your suspicions?" Yagami queried, his gaze hopeful.

"No," L and I said in unison.

Yagami frowned. "Can I ask why not?"

"To be honest, all his answers to my questions were a little too on-the-ball," L replied. "It has made us suspect him even more."

"Hey, saying that to me is one thing, but don't say that kind of stuff to my Dad when he's in this condition," Light grumbled. "Have some consideration."

"It's quite all right, Light," Yagami said, leaning his head back into his pillow. "An ambiguous answer would be even more stressful. I much prefer knowing the truth. And I understand that though you're under suspicion, it isn't enough to make you an actual suspect."

"That's correct," L said. "You seem to misunderstand me a little, Light." He shifted in his seat a bit, keeping his solid gaze on Light. "As I told you earlier, when I say suspicion, I'm talking about a very slight possibility. Let me explain again. Kira murdered the 12 FBI agents who entered Japan. This is clear from the fact that all of them died on December 27th, the same day they received that file."

"It's also a fact that Kira has access to task force information," I put in. "We don't know how, though; speaking from experience, the task force firewalls are not very secure."

"You've hacked into the task force database?" Yagami asked incredulously.

I shrugged. "I had to test it to see if an amateur would be able to bust in or not. I would say someone with adept knowledge of hacking could accomplish it—it wasn't very advance stuff. But... it's also possible that someone had access to a task force member's actual computer."

"There's also the fact that none of the task force members have been targeted yet," L said. "Which leads us to believe that there is a possibility that Kira is related to one of them."

"And you having a virus trap on your desktop doesn't help your case," I added.

Light glared at me. "So _you're_ what happened to my computer."

I grinned. "Gotta admit, you got me. I didn't expect you to have that ready to go."

"It was in case Sayu tried to look through it," Light said, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. "I... had some stuff on there she didn't need to see."

I chuckled. "Yeah, teenage boy stuff, I'm sure." I recalled how he was reading porn magazines when we were watching the cameras in his room. At least he never stuck his hand down his pants or anything. That would have been awkward.

"Then there's one of the FBI agents, Raye Penber. Some of his actions were quite noteworthy," L said.

"And now his fiancé has gone missing," I put in. I was still pissed about that. I'd never stop being pissed. Naomi... I would find and end Kira just for her. "She was a former FBI agent to boot."

"So that's how you narrowed it down to the Kitamuras and us," Light murmured.

"Yes," L said.

"My view so far has been that since Kira was operating in the Kanto region, he must be Japanese," Light said, lifting his gaze. "He couldn't bring himself to hurt innocent Japanese for that reason. But if those FBI agents were shadowing NPA personnel and their families, you're right that there is a good possibility Kira was among those they were probing."

Light let out a long breath and gripped his chin, propping his elbow on his knee.

"And I happened to be among those they were probing, too. So I can't fault you for placing me under suspicion..." He closed his eyes. "In fact, you're absolutely right. There are no other likely suspects."

I leaned in my chair, impressed. If Light was Kira, he was good at this. So openly admitting he was the best candidate didn't seem like something Kira would risk doing—unless he was trying to pull reverse psychology. I yearned to look at Nox to see if he was doing anything odd, but I knew I had to be even more careful about my Shinigami when Light was around than when it was just L and me.

"Your powers of deduction are outstanding, Light," L complimented. "You're always quick and precise."

"I'll help you with this investigation," Light declared, looking between me and L. "My father confirmed your identities. That's enough for me to trust you are who you say you are." He began to grin. "And I'll prove that I'm not Kira. Because I'm going to catch Kira for you."

"A bold vow," I noted, lacing my hands behind my head. "Guess it'll be a race, then."

"Light, you should be focusing on your studies," Yagami insisted. "There will be plenty of time to chase criminals after you join the NPA."

"That's years from now, Dad," Light said. "And besides, I made a promise to you. I said that if Kira ever hurt you I would make certain he paid the death penalty. I'm keeping to those words. Kira is responsible for what happened to you. If there is any way I can assist with moving this investigation forward, I'm going to do it."

I tried to stifle a laugh. What was this—some corny cop show? If Light was being honest and this wasn't just all an act, he was a try-hard for sure. Daddy's little boy through and through.

L seemed just as unimpressed by Light's display. He glanced at me with a look that seemed to say: "Can you believe this?" Before anyone could notice our exchange, L spoke up.

"Light, what kind of person do you think Kira is?" he asked. "What's your image of him?"

"Hmm..." Light's face grew pensive. "I think Kira is an affluent child."

There was a moment of silence. I stared at Light, startled. He would so blatantly declare that? It was exactly what L and I had figured Kira was like. Though, I honestly never thought to notate how there was a strong possibility that Kira was wealthy... spoiled, even.

"I like it, go on," L said, looking at Light from the corner of his eyes.

"If as assumed, he can kill people just by willing it..." Light said. "If a human being had that kind of power—using it to get rid of criminals, and at the same time making it an example of it to others in order to make this world a better place... It's the immature notions of a child. I would say he's anywhere between late grade school and high school. Anyone younger than that would be too scared or they'd use that power to kill people they knew and didn't like. And if it was anyone older, they would use it for their personal gain. You could think of thousands of ways to use that power to become rich."

It took a lot to keep my features neutral; that last sentence reminded me of far too much. I bit my tongue almost hard enough to draw blood in order to ground myself.

"The reason I say affluent is because Kira already has everything he needs," Light said. "Otherwise maybe he would be using this power just for personal gain. He has some purity about him... I'd say he's probably a middle school student that has his own cell phone and computer."

There was another silence as the room seemed to weigh Light's words. L began to raise his thumb toward his mouth but when he spotted me glaring he stopped short. He sighed and then his eyes flew wide.

"Your sister Sayu!" he declared.

Light stood up so fast it toppled his chair over. I was too busy trying not to let my laughter be too loud.

"What is the matter with you?!" Light demanded. "Did you come here to wish my father well or finish him off?!"

"I was only drawing the obvious conclusion from your own speculations, Light," L replied innocently.

"I mean, she is a little _too_ adorable," I added, half giggling.

Light's glare fixated on me. I wasn't certain, but it seemed to be filled with more loathing than what seemed appropriate for my teasing—like he carried more hatred for me than he wanted to freely show.

"Stop it, all of you," Yagami groaned from the bed. "There isn't much you can say that would faze me at this stage in the game. And this might sound like the ramblings of a fond father, but I'm positive Sayu isn't Kira. If anything, she'd kill someone she knew and then bawl her eyes out it after."

"You're right," L amended.

I couldn't help but notice how Yagami defended his daughter, but not his son.

"Kira is evil, there's no doubt about that," the Chief went on. "But lately, I've been starting to think of it more like this... The real evil is the power to kill people."

I couldn't help but feel hyper aware of the Death Note in my satchel. My heart hammered and I leaned forward, locking my eyes with Yagami's.

"I couldn't agree more," I said.

I must have taken the room by surprise. Everyone stared at me for a moment. It could be because my voice held no smile or humor. It wasn't my usual lighthearted tone with a hint of warmth. It was ice, and I could feel my expression mirroring it. It was interesting; most people's rage ran hot. Their fury was fire and wild, but my anger was still. It was frigid and unmovable.

The Death Notes were the true evil here. Not that I was about to forgive Kira for taking advantage of such a power, but if the Death Notes were gone—if the Shinigami never came to the human world—so many more people would still be alive.

Finally, Yagami just nodded back at me. "Someone who finds such power is cursed. No matter how you use it, anything obtained by killing people can never bring true happiness."

"You're absolutely right, Chief Yagami," L murmured. "If Kira is indeed a human who gained this ability, he is a very unfortunate individual."

I glanced toward Light. He was staring at his shoes, his face unreadable. I had to admit, if he was Kira, this was the perfect shit to say in front of him. Perhaps L was trying to provoke him.

"Ryuzaki, Nina, I'm sorry to have collapsed like this," Yagami said. "I'll be back to work as soon as I can."

"What are you talking about, Dad?" Light exclaimed. "You need to rest until you're fully recovered."

"He's right, you know," I pointed out. "Overworking yourself is what got you into that hospital bed."

"No," Yagami snapped. "I will not sit on my thumbs with Kira on the loose. I will catch him if its the last thing I do."

"Excuse me."

A nurse stepped into the room before any of us could offer a rebuttal to the Chief's words. She stared at us down a long nose, her face severe.

"Visiting hours are over. You'll have to leave," she declared.

We said our goodbyes to Yagami and headed out of the hospital. I was quite pleased with the scent of fresh air when we stepped outside. The sun had fallen and the brilliant lights of Tokyo burned before us. There was already a black car waiting for us in the loading lane; L must have texted Watari at some point.

"Ryuga, Nina," Light said.

We both looked back at him. He was gazing at us with a fierce expression.

"What can I do to convince you that I'm not Kira? Isn't there some way I can make you trust me?" he begged.

"If you're not Kira, then you don't have to do anything," L responded calmly.

"Come on, quit yanking me around," Light ordered. "Think about what it feels like to be accused of being Kira!"

I considered for a moment then gave an amending nod. "It is pretty shitty."

"I was going to use the term awful," L said.

"See?" Light shoved his hands in his pockets. "How about locking me up for a month somewhere with no TV or anything. You both can watch me the whole time. Or something like that."

I shared a look with L. Would anyone really go through this much trouble to prove their innocence if they were innocent?

"I can't do that," L finally said. "It would violate your rights to privacy and freedom of movement. And anyway, it's nonsense to accept such a proposal from someone under suspicion."

"You've got a point," Light admitted with a heavy breath.

"It's totally fine," I assured him with a big grin. "If you're not Kira, we'll figure that out soon enough."

"Besides, after watching you with your father today, there is a chance you might not be Kira after all," L added as he opened the door and gestured for me to get into the car's backseat.

"Oh, what a gentleman!" I crooned before sliding inside.

L got in after me. He looked toward Light as he gripped the door to shut it. "Take good care of your father."

"Oh! One more thing!" Light said before L could close the door. "I said I'd help out with the investigation, but I don't think I'll have the time until after my father gets a little better."

"I know," L said. "Goodbye."

With that, L shut the door, and the car pulled away.

I leaned back in my chair letting out a long breath. "Well... that was fun."

"You find the oddest things fun," L murmured.

I glanced behind us. Nox was sitting on the trunk of the car, his one icy blue eyes piercing. I had a feeling that even though he was outside the car that he could still hear us. I faced forward again and closed my eyes. I knew I was pushing my limits with that Shinigami, but I wasn't going to let Kira catch up to us before L could know the truth.

"Ryu," I said, my voice low.

"Yes?" L looked toward me.

"Chief Yagami was not attacked by Kira." I made certain to keep my voice firm and absolute.

"What makes you so sure?" L asked. His gaze was searching mine.

I glanced back behind up again. Nox was still there—still staring at me. He smiled widely at me and slid a finger across his narrow neck before giving me a thumbs down. I got the warning well enough.

Twisting my body forward again, I let out a breath. "Trust me."

L was still staring at me. He glanced behind the back window for a moment.

"All right," he said. "I'll trust you."

His words brought a smile to my lips. Before I knew what I was doing, I reached over and squeezed his hand. L blinked, startled. I retracted swiftly, hoping to make my unconscious movement less awkward. It didn't stop my cheeks from heating up a bit.

"Guess this whole couple thing is turning into a habit," I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"We'll keep it as our front when we're out in public," L said. He was staring out the window, not meeting my gaze. "We still don't know for certain if Light is Kira or not. If he isn't, I'd rather not have our cover blown."

"Sounds like a plan, then," I said awkwardly.

L was quiet for a moment before he darted his eyes toward me again. "Can I ask you something? It's driving me crazy."

"Uh, okay," I replied, frowning.

"At the tennis match today," L said. "I haven't had a chance to talk to you about it yet. You used the term 'give'r.' That's... a Canadian saying, isn't it?"

I let out a small chuckle and leaned back in my seat. "Are you asking me for a truth?"

"Weren't we past the game?" L said, tilting his head. "You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. I suppose I'm just curious as to if you're native to Canada or just lived there for a time."

"I don't know where I'm native to," I said. "But... my parents adopted and raised me in Canada. Victoria Island. It's kind of a tourist trap, actually, but beautiful."

L slowly nodded. He smiled a bit. "Thank you for telling me."

"Well, how can I ask you to trust me if I don't trust you?" I said. "Of course, some truths are harder to go over than others. Do... do you know where you were born?"

L shrugged. "No. But I spent my childhood in England. Of course, I think you know that part."

"I do. Sorry about that, by the way."

The detective looked out the window again. "You just might have something in common with Kira and me. You hate to lose."

I laughed. "I guess so."

It wasn't so much that I hated to lose... I hated not knowing things, and L's identity was the most alluring thing there was—at least to me. I still didn't know all of it, and itched to learn more. Of course, I didn't feel like I had any right to poke and prod for his information when I still couldn't tell him about my biggest secret.

With a soft sigh, I looked down at my iPod. I wondered if I could attempt to bring up the note and sneakily show it to L. However, Nox was still sitting right outside the back window, and I knew he could phase his head through the glass anytime he wanted to. I needed to wait until Nox was nowhere to be seen... though that didn't seem like it was ever going to happen...

The other option was to attempt to lure L into looking at my iPod and searching through its notes. I was sure he already looked through my night time iPod when I went with Watari to the family homes. A shame I didn't think to add the note to that one before.

Either way, I was going to figure out how to tell L the truth and make certain we both got out of this. Because... L was...

I looked at his hand again. It was now resting on his knee, which was up near his chin. His other hand was propping his head up as he stared at the cars whizzing by.

Maybe I was just kidding myself. Maybe I was a complete fool for even hoping. Yet if L and I could solve this case—if we could come out of it on top, triumphant—then maybe we could keep working together.

Maybe... we could...

"Jack."

I just about screamed when Nox's voice sounded in my ear. I turned to see him sticking his head in through the glass, grinning at me.

"I just have to ask..." he said with a sneer. "Are you actually getting the flutters from this guy?" He thumbed toward L, who was still staring out the window. The detective had no idea there was a monstrous death god mere inches from him.

I couldn't exactly respond to Nox, but my blush seemed to tell him all he wanted to know.

"Oh-ho-ho, this just keeps getting better," he said.

I shook my head, narrowing my eyes.

"Ah ah ah!" Nox waggled a finger at me. "Easy. Don't give me away, Jack... I'd hate to kill the both of you."

My face burned even hotter. It wasn't from embarrassment this time. Nox constantly threatening to kill me was one thing, but L? No. _No way._ L was off limits. I wanted to scream at him, and I even started to open my mouth to do so, but suddenly L swiveled his head to face me.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, his expression falling into one of bewilderment.

I clamped my jaw shut as Nox cackled and retreated back to sitting on the trunk outside. How did that Shinigami expect me to keep his existence a secret when he pulled shit like that? I shut my eyes tight and threw myself back into my seat, trying to think.

Then it came to me.

"It wasn't you," I said, my words slow. I tasted each one as it came out, hoping against hope this didn't kill me. "It was Nox."


	16. Change the Channel!

_L_

"Nox?" L echoed Jack's words, his brow creasing.

He'd heard the name before, actually—back when he took Jack to Akihabara in the shop with all the displays. At the time, he hadn't been certain what the word was. He thought he might have misheard her when she was speaking; but now that she spoke it again, he was certain that was what she said.

Jack nodded. She glanced warily toward the back window. She had done that a few times since they'd gotten in the car and even as she stared, she winced and held up her hands as if in defense.

"Will you just let me talk for a second?" she shouted.

L blinked, bewildered. She wasn't talking to him. Her eyes were on something else.

"Okay." Jack let out a long exhale, seeming to collect herself. "Those pills I take. Yeah, they help me sleep. But you were on the dime, they're also an anti-psychotic. I see and hear things other people don't. More specifically, I see and hear Nox."

Several things began to make sense at once. The way that Jack would stare at a fixed spot. The way she would talk to herself in her room. He'd never been able to make out anything she said, but it was still clear that she was speaking.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Jack said softly. "I didn't want you to think it would compromise the case. I'm still perfectly functional, and I'm fully aware of what Nox truly is." She shot an angry glare out the back window. "Sometimes, he gets a little overbearing. But it helps to talk to him. To tell him to shut up, in some cases. Sometimes, he even helps me with my work."

"You have schizophrenia." It was a statement more than a question. L eyed her carefully. The story made complete sense. It answered so many of L's questions about her. But on the other hand... there were still some things that were left a mystery to him. Like what she was truly hiding from him about this case—about how her father died.

"Yeah," Jack said. She was staring at her knees now. "High functioning, thank you very much. I know Nox can't... I know what he is."

L couldn't help but notice her unique choice of words. _I know what he is_... She didn't state that she knew he wasn't real. Perhaps she thought—in a sense—he was? Was this Nox a piece of her consciousness? Taking on form and speaking to her to help her work through her thoughts? It was a possibility.

"It hasn't effected your work so far," L said. "I wouldn't assume it would start now. I suppose... I'm just taken a bit off guard."

"Why, because you didn't see it coming?" Jack began to smirk. She glanced toward the window. "There, is that sufficient, jackass?"

L could only assume she was talking to Nox. She laughed after a moment and shook her head.

"He's not happy I told you about him," she said.

"Perhaps that indicates you're not happy you told me," L suggested.

Jack scoffed and waved him off. "Come on Ryu, just because I told you does not give you grounds to play shrink on me."

"I apologize," L replied sincerely. "When... when did it start? Or has it always been there?"

"Oh, after... well about ten, eleven months ago now," Jack said. She looked hesitant. "Ryu, have you seen the other cases I've worked?"

An odd and sudden question. L frowned. "I've read some of their summaries online."

"Ah. Well Nox started really helping me with the one with all those clowns." She laughed. "That one was just weird. Some people take Stephen King's stories way too seriously."

L examined her face. It was like she was trying to tell him something—to communicate with her eyes as she gazed into him. Their vivid green shade reminded L of leafs on a tree during the spring. They swam with intensity despite her light tone.

"What... what does he look like? If you don't mind my asking," L said.

Jack cringed a bit. "Ah. Um. Yeah, he's unique?" She glanced toward the back window and laughed a little. "Very... tall. Slim. Hair white as snow and he has an eye-patch. Long black coat. Sometimes he has wings... His smile can literally reach his ears. And all his teeth are like a shark's."

"He sounds like a very unpleasant thing to have stuck following you everywhere," L observed.

Jack laughed, hard. She grinned wickedly out the back window. "Ah, that was great. Keep up comments like that, Ryu, maybe you'll scare him off. In any case, I got used to him. He..." She slowly calmed from her laughing fit and now her smile was actually a touch warm. "He's not too bad, to be honest. Stubborn and annoying as hell at times, but... not bad."

L understood that Jack stated she was high functioning, that this Nox wasn't going to effect her work. He was telling the truth when he said it hadn't as of yet—not that he noticed anyway—but the way that she interacted with him was truly as if he existed. Was it healthy to keep talking with him? Shouldn't her medication stop him from showing up? Part of L wondered if he should say something about it.

But instead, all he ended up saying was, "Well, I'm glad he's... manageable at least."

Jack let out a long sigh of relief. "I'm glad that cat's out of the bag. It's hard enough pretending he's not there. Anyway, best if you don't tell anyone else about this, Ryu. Watari can know, of course, but the rest of the task force—and especially Light—should stay in the dark about it." She grimaced. "Mental health still isn't taken well. And I don't want to give Aizawa any more excuses to be a jackass to me."

"Of course, I will make sure this information stays confidential," L assured her. "Thank you for telling me."

Jack smiled widely. "I'm just glad you took it so well. Really, L, you're just beyond reality. I had a teacher once who complained about how the word 'awesome' had been watered down over the years. That it used to be a word reserved for something so fantastic, so wonderful, that it struck awe in us. Struck it so hard we could do nothing but be amazed. I really liked that teacher. I agree with him on that."

She reached out and poked L's nose gently with a devilish wink.

"And I think you, Ryu, are awesome," she said.

L didn't know how to respond to that. It made his center feel light, like he was sort of... floating. Was this happiness? Elation? No. It was close, but it was something else—something more. An older sibling in the family of happiness. One that had heat to it, heat and stammering heartbeats. It was happy, but it was also rather uncomfortable.

"Thank you," L finally managed to say. "It's nice to have someone think so fondly of me... I suppose I'm just not used to it."

"Well, maybe all our acting has prepared you for the true dating world," Jack suggested, her smile turning a touch feral. "I can be your wing girl. We'll go to a bar. Pick up some hot dames. Do the most cliche possible approach to it."

"Dating is not something I've ever had time for," L replied. "It would effect my ability to take on cases if I had to divide my attention between my work and another person."

"Yeah, that sounds like something you'd say," Jack sighed. "But just try to keep in mind, L, you help loads of people every day so they can live happy lives. That's astonishing and beautiful, really. But you deserve to have a happy life too. I know you love your work, but doesn't it get lonely with just you and Watari?"

L turned his head to look out the window. "Well, you'll be with us from here on, won't you?"

His words seemed to surprise her. Jack didn't respond for a long moment. L ended up facing her again, perking a brow. Her jaw was slack and her cheeks carried a small tint of pink.

"I mean... I suggested it," she said.

"I think it's a good idea," L told her. "Between the three of us, I don't think we'll find a case we can't solve."

"We just have to survive this case first," Jack murmured. Her eyes flickered with worry. "Do you think we're being too risky, exposing ourselves to Light like that? What if he _is_ Kira?"

"He still needs our names," L reminded her. "Don't worry. We will find out soon enough whether or not he is Kira."

Jack still looked troubled. She stared at her knees, biting her lower lip. Her eyes darted back and forth, swathed in conflict.

"I just hope..." she said softly, "that if he is Kira... that all my hunches are right about him."

L wasn't quite certain what that was supposed to mean. Before he could think of a way to ask for clarification, Jack presented him with a beaming smile. It transformed her face. She was an attractive girl, L knew that, but the way she looked just then... he couldn't take his eyes from her.

"I know I already said it, Ryu, but thank you," she said. Her voice was sincere and thick with emotion. "Now. Let's find Kira. Whether he's Light or not, let's expose him and take him down together."

 _Together._

L swallowed. He itched to bite his nails, but he knew that Jack would smack him. As they continued to drive back toward their hotel, L could not help but ponder at the flutter in his center. The way he could not keep himself from glancing at Jack.

She'd just told him she saw and heard a monster no one else could. But that didn't deter L from her in the least. In fact, he found himself flooded with admiration. That she was able to cope with this illness and continue to work cases so spectacularly... it spoke volumes for her character.

L let out a slow exhale through his nose and closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the cool glass of the car window.

 _What are you doing to me, Jacqueline Townsend?_

* * *

 _Jack_

Four days went by. We hadn't heard from Light personally, but we received reports that he was regularly visiting his father in the hospital. Kira's killings went on without a hitch, more criminals falling victim to his Death Note each day. I was getting frustrated with the lack of progress, but it couldn't be helped. Until Yagami was recovered, we wouldn't be able to get Light officially on the task force.

On the other hand, now that I had spun my story for L about schizophrenia, dealing with Nox was far easier. The Shinigami had been livid at first, but once he saw how well L and Watari fell for the lie, even he was on board with it. It was a win win for both of us. I didn't have to be as careful about talking to him, and if he had a question, most of the time I could answer it right away.

I could tell L was a little bewildered by it at first, especially since I regularly spoke with Nox in the hotel room now. The detective would get confused at times, assuming I was talking to him. After a while, he picked up on the tone I used when talking to Nox. It was usually one dripping with venom and annoyance.

"Does he ever talk about me?" L asked me a couple of days after I had told him about Nox.

Nox laughed. "Tell him I think he should star in a vampire teen movie."

"I'm not telling him that," I snapped at Nox before looking at L. "Yes, he does. He likes to tease."

L raised a brow.

I sighed and leaned back in the sofa. "He makes fun of how pale and skinny you are."

For a moment, I thought L looked a touch insulted, but the look was so fleeting that I couldn't be certain.

"Do you find it amusing?" he queried, eyes fixated on mine and unwavering.

I chuckled. "L, I've already told you that you're handsome. Besides, what does my opinion of your looks matter? You don't seem the type to worry about those kind of things."

L had looked away from me at that point. "I'm not," he muttered.

The truth was, I did have to take my meds for more than just sleep. I was schizoaffective, which in a sense was like a little sibling to schizophrenia. I would on occasion hear and see things other people didn't, but it was very fleeting—a half sentence of a conversation that didn't make any sense, a shadow crossing the street. However, for me—even without the meds—it was always easy to tell what was real and what wasn't, though the hallucinations did get annoying.

Now, L and I were sitting in the living room and a few other members of the task force were with us. It was slightly annoying because I couldn't talk freely to Nox, but he was behaving well today for whatever reason. He leaned on the wall toward the back of the room, watching us with a bored expression.

"As for Naomi Misua..." Ukita murmured, looking over a sheaf of papers he held in his hands. "The only lead we have is a statement from the hotel staff that they saw her leaving on the evening of December 27th. Isn't it about time we start an official search? We can't get very far with just a few people asking vague questions about her."

"If we go public stating that her disappearance is related to the Kira case, there is a chance he might kill her if she's still alive," L said.

I rubbed my temples. I wanted to believe that Naomi was still alive. But I knew how the Death Note worked. Kira could have people die however he liked, so long as it was in the realm of being physically possible. He could have forced Naomi to go somewhere incredibly secluded and kill herself. Somewhere where no one would find her.

"If we do open an official investigation, we should keep quiet about the Kira angle," L went on. "And only release sketches of her face. No photos."

"This is almost impossible," Ukita sighed. "If we don't mention Kira's involvement, no one will be interested. If we do, they'll be interested all right, but they will be too scared to actually help."

"We have to work with what we can," I said. "Besides, Uki, don't you like a little challenge?" I grinned.

The others were already used to my nickname for Ukita, but his still seemed to get embarrassed when I used it in front of them.

"I mean, maybe if I'm trying to complete a puzzle, but this is life and death we're talking about, Nina."

"Well, one way or another, we have to find her," I insisted.

"She's been missing four whole months now," Aizawa said. He had his head propped in a hand and his eyes were lidded. "She can't possibly be alive."

"Dead women tell no tales..." Matsuda murmured. "In which case, there isn't really a point in searching for her."

A small tremble arrested my shoulders. "Of course there's a point. She deserves to have a proper funeral. Her family deserves to know what happened to her." My voice grew sharp- broken glass gliding across flesh.

Matsuda flinched. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come off like that. I just meant that... I mean, what can we gain from her if she's dead?"

"Even if she's dead, someone might have talked to her and heard something," L said. "And there's also the fact that her body has never been found. It could provide additional leads if it's recovered."

"But if someone heard something, don't you think they'd come forward by now?" Ukita asked, his brow furrowed.

"Ryuzaki!"

I turned my head to see Watari approaching us from the hallway at a swift pace. His face was grim, eyes down turned with anxiety.

"What is it, Watari?" L asked. He looked just as surprised as I was at the sudden outburst from the old man.

"It's Sakura TV," Watari said, snatching up the television remote on the coffee table. "You have to see this."

With a swift press of some buttons, Watari powered on the TV and brought it to the proper channel. I had been in Japan long enough to know that Sakura TV was a news station with mostly bogus stories. Not a lot of people trusted it, and it was rarely viewed. I hadn't actually sat and watched it before.

There was a reporter sitting on a chair, a screen beside him with the headline. It's what caught my attention first.

A MESSAGE FROM KIRA WITH FOUR TERRIFYING VIDEOS.

The reporter was mid-sentence when we tuned in.

"In other words, we are being held hostage by Kira, and have no choice but to air these videos," he was saying. "At the same time, we feel doing so is our professional duty. I would like to emphasize once again that these videos are not being broadcast as a hoax or for purposes of sensationalism."

"Held hostage by Kira?" Aizawa exclaimed.

"What's going on here?" Matsuda cried.

"Shh," I hushed them as I leaned forward, eyes narrowing. This was odd. A very direct and sudden approach. That hasn't been how Kira was doing things before. And not to mention- if this hostage thing was to be believed, he was putting innocent lives at risk. From what I'd observed of Kira's actions, he seemed to think himself a hero. A vigilante that protected the innocent and punished the guilty.

"Four days ago, an envelope containing four video tapes arrived at this station, addressed to one of our directors," the reporter said. There were beads of sweat on his brow. He looked incredibly uncomfortable. "It was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, sent by Kira." He then gestured to some small tapes on the table beside him. "The first tape announced the time and date of the death for Seiichi and Seiji Machiba, who were arrested the other day. Exactly as predicted, these men died at 7 PM of heart attacks."

I furrowed my brow, trying to understand. What was Kira's angle here? What sort of message was he trying to send? He had proved before that he didn't need to use the media to get L's attention. He used bizarre deaths and notes from his victims to do that. So... was he trying to speak to the public? Why?

"Who but Kira is capable of carrying out something like this?" the reporter asked. "From this fact, we have concluded that the sender of these tapes was none other than Kira. The envelope we received contained instructions from Kira telling us to air this, the second video, at exactly 5:59 PM today." He picked up one of the tapes and presented to to the camera. "We have not viewed this video ourselves, but Kira's instructions state that it predicts another death... and contains a message from Kira to people all over the world."

The reporter then gently handed the tape to a woman who came on screen. She took it and left the frame.

"This has to be one of their fake stories, right?" Ukita rasped.

"No way," Matsuda said. "Not even Sakura would go this far..."

"If it is him, I suppose we have to give it to him," Nox said as he approached from his leaning spot on the wall. He stared at the TV with a wicked glint in his one visible eyes. His smile was wide and vicious. "He's got guts. And style to boot."

I don't think I would have responded to that if I could. I was too focused on the TV. If this was Kira... what could his message possibly be? I knew what I would do if I was Kira and had the chance to speak to the public. I would recruit. I would want to bend people to my side. Convince them what I was doing was right. And if people listened to that... it could be absolutely disastrous.

"It is now 5:59 PM," the reporter said. "You will now see Kira's video."

The screen suddenly flickered. What appeared next was the name KIRA written in stylized lettering- almost the same font that L used for his broadcast. Though it was rather easy to tell that it was hand drawn on a sheet of paper. The video quality was garbage, to put it lightly. Whatever camera did this wasn't anything of merit, a home video camera like the kind an aunt or uncle brought to family gatherings.

"I am Kira."

The voice that came from the TV was garbled and deep. It was digitally distorted, but not in the way L's was when he spoke over computer. With his, it was easy to tell he used impressive tech to get his disguised voice. It sounded mysterious and somewhat delightful. Not the voice of some malfunctioning Darth Vader.

"If this video is aired at exactly 5:59 PM, on April 18th, then it is now 5:59 PM and 38, 39, 40 seconds..." the garbled voice said. "Please change channels to Taiyo TV. The news anchor, Mr. Kazuhiko Hibima, will die at approximately 6 PM."

"No way," Aizawa breathed.

"Change the channel!" L ordered.

Watari obliged, flicking the channel to the one the voice directed us to. Sure enough, laying limp on the table, was a male news anchor. His co-hosts looked horrified and were shaking him in a vein attempt to wake him.

"Change it back to Sakura!" L shouted, his eyes wide.

Watari obeyed.

"Watari, bring another TV in here," L added.

"It's done," Watari assured, leaving the room swiftly.

It took a moment before the garbled voice began to speak again. Most likely, it was waiting for viewers to switch back to this channel.

"Mr. Hibima regularly referred to Kira as 'evil' in his news reports," it said. "This was his punishment."

Okay whoa. I shook my head, completely bewildered. This was not how Kira did things. Even if people spoke against him, the only one he ever killed or attempted to kill were people who attempted to physically stop him. But to just murder a reporter like that? I suppose in a sense, pitting the people against Kira is a way of stopping him. Or making what he does more difficult. But still...

"But one demonstration does not serve as absolute proof," the voice went on. "I will present you with another. My next target is a commentator that has also condemned me repeatedly. He is scheduled to be live on the air this time."

"Ryuzaki..." Matsuda said uncertainly. He now had the remote.

"Turn to channel 24," L ordered.

The channel switched, and once again, there was a man just slumping over onto the table he was seated at. The people next to him screamed.

"They said Kira was going to be sending a message to people all over the world," L said. His eyes were wide like twin moons. His voice was low and filled with dread. "We have to make them stop this broadcast or something terrible is going to happen."

"I'll get the number for Sakura TV!" Matsuda shouted. He shoved the remote in my hands and sprinted for the phone.

"Back to Sakura TV, please, Nina," L said.

I hit the buttons for the previous channel just in time for us to hear the voice speak again.

"I trust now that you believe I am in fact Kira," it said.

"Damn it, all the numbers I try are busy!" Matsuda exclaimed.

"My friend who works there has his cell turned off," Aizawa added, face twisted in irritation.

"Screw it," Ukita barked. "If we can't reach them over phone then I'll just go down there and stop them myself!"

"Uki, hold on—you can't go alone!" I exclaimed.

"Wait, Ukita!" Aizawa called, but Ukita was already out the door.

 _Damn it. Stubborn moron._ I began to get up but L gripped my arm.

"You can't go out there," he said. "Ukita knows what he's doing."

Before I could respond, the TV caught my attention once again.

"Please listen to me," the voice on the TV said. "I do not wish to kill innocent people. I hate evil and love justice. I do not see the police as my enemies, but rather my allies against the evil of the world. My aim is to rid the world of evil and create a just society. If all of you would join me in this mission, it would easily be accomplished."

It was just as I thought. Kira was trying to bend the people to support him. But still... still something was off. Still something didn't feel right about any of it. For Kira to just kill people who spoke out against him like some tyrant king... it wasn't his style.

"If you do not try to capture me, no innocent people will die," the voice continued. "And even if you do not agree with me, if you refrain from publicizing your views on the media or in public, you will be spared. And then simply wait. Soon enough, the world will be changed for the better. I'm sure you'll all agree."

I clenched my jaw. Ukita going off on his own... it might take more than just him to stop this broadcast. Those people were scared for their lives. They wouldn't let anyone, not even the police, do something that might cause Kira to kill them.

"It's all wrong," I said to L. "He doesn't kill innocent people unless it's completely necessary. Why this show? There's still plenty of people who back him up."

"We can ask why later," L said. "Right now, we just have to stop him."

He was biting his thumbnail, but I didn't bother telling him to stop this time.

"I can do it," the voice assured. "I can change the world and make it a place inhabited by only good, kindhearted people. Just imagine it. A place protected my the police and myself. A place with no room for evil."

Suddenly, the audio skipped oddly, and the screen paused. The reporter was suddenly back on camera.

"We pause this to bring you a live broadcast from outside Sakura TV's station," he said. Again, the screen flicked. It then showed the large glass front doors of the news station.

There was a body slumped by them.

"This just in!" the reporter said. "Someone came running toward the doors just moments ago, attempting to get in. However before he could succeed, he collapsed!"

My heart gave a heavy hiccup. That short hair... the tan suit...

"Ukita!" Aizawa cried. "Kira got him?!"

But how? It was so sudden. Did Kira actually have all the names and faces of those on the task force and had just been holding onto them? Waiting for when they might interfere? But they'd been so careful. I didn't think even Light knew which officers were on the task force.

Something began to boil within me. It was hot and feral, releasing jagged bolts of electricity all throughout my body. It congested my bones with rage.

There were two most likely ways as to how Ukita died. Light was indeed Kira, and had been holding onto the list of names of officers in case of emergencies like this—or... or whoever just did that had the Shinigami Eyes. It could still be Light, but part of me could not help but focus on how wild and straight forward this play by Kira was. It wasn't like his usual methods.

Regardless, an innocent man just lost his life. Another _innocent_ man. I remembered him smoking his cigarette outside the Yagami house the day we put up the cameras and wire taps.

 _"You're putting your life on the line to stop Kira, just like us. I'm sure there's a ton of other stuff a young lady like yourself could be doing with her life. But this is what you chose. Gotta admit, I'm impressed."_

Warmth infested my eyes. I blinked rapidly, trying to refuse the tears that were rising.

 _"Just try to find something less insane to do after this. Maybe try to convince Ryuzaki to do the same. You're both so young. You should be living your lives."_

 _But what about you, Uki?_

I wanted to scream. I wanted to pick up the TV and throw it out the window. Ukita had every right to live his life too. All of the task force did. But this... he'd been torn away by a psychopath who was playing god.

Before I could put much thought into what I was doing, I was bolting from the room. My satchel was next to the door and I snagged it.

"Jack!" L's voice called after me, but I was already flinging the door open and sprinting down the hall. I couldn't help but notice that in his state of panic, he didn't use my alias.

Footsteps were pelting after me, but I was too swift. My regular work out routine was something only L and Watari knew about. This was made clear by Aizawa saying, "How the hell...?" behind me as I left him and the others in the dust.

I reached the elevators just in time for one of them to open. That was luck, I would admit. I was going to take the stairs otherwise. I slid inside just as a confused elderly couple exited. I smashed the close door button over and over and managed to get it to shut just when Aizawa's livid face appeared.

The elevator took me down to the lobby, and as it descended, I gripped my shirt and tore the bottom part off, leaving my mid-drift showing. I took the strip of fabric and tied it around the lower half of my face.

"What exactly are you doing?" Nox asked me as he drifted into the elevator with me.

"I'm going to find Kira," I snarled. "He has to be near that place if he saw Uki at the doors. I know that if he does have the Eyes that he can't see my name anyway, but I don't want him to know my trap card yet. If I keep my face covered, he will just chalk it up to not being able to see all of my face."

"This is stupid, you know that, right?" Nox pressed. "Your detective buddy is going to be pissed."

"He'll live," I replied dryly. "Which is the entire point."

The elevator doors opened, and once again I was off. My runners squeaked against the lobby floor and several people yelped as I darted by. I was out the doors and sprinting toward the street. Cab- I needed a cab. Luckily enough, our hotel was in a very populated spot in Tokyo. There were some cabs lined up near the drop off lane by the doors. With deft movements, I ripped open the back door of one and slid inside.

"Sakura TV station!" I said to the driver, my voice filled with urgency. "There's an extra two thousand yen if you get us there as fast as possible!"

The driver, an elderly Japanese man, was clearly startled at both my appearance and my demands.

"Are you aware of what—" he began.

"Of course I am!" I shouted. "Please- you don't have to get close- just the nearest corner- you'll be safe." I shoved some cash from my wallet at him. Ten thousand yen. "Here—come on go!"

The man stared at the money for a moment with wide eyes before throwing the car into drive and taking off from the curb. I turned my head around to see Aizawa and Matsuda just running out from the hotel, both clearly out of breath. They were too late.

My cell phone started ringing. I looked at it and wasn't surprised to see L's number displayed. I debated for a moment in answering, but in the end I flipped it open.

"Jack," L's voice was strained and thick with what I knew had to be anger. I'd never heard him so frustrated before. Once again, he wasn't calling me Nina. "Come back right now."

"Can't do that," I said in English as I gripped the handle on the ceiling of the car near the window. The cab driver certainly was taking my request to step on it seriously, and I didn't want him to understand my conversation, betting on the fact he could only speak Japanese. "You and I both know that he has to be near there."

"So, what, you're going to go in and arrest him?" L demanded. "Under what authority? Jack, you are not a police officer. This is far too dangerous, you're going to get yourself killed, just like Ukita."

"I'm going to avenge him," I said with a growl.

"Jack, you're making me angry."

"I'm not the one you should be directing your anger at," I said, my voice tight like water meeting ice. With a flick of my wrist, I snapped the phone shut.

"Ma'am, are you sure about this?" the cab driver asked warily.

"Yes," I insisted. "Please, just hurry."


	17. Are You Insane?

_**A/N::: GUYS! I made some pretty new cover art for this with L holding Jack and Nox's eerie form in the background. Just wanted to point it out, cause I'm pretty excited about that sketch. I think it's symbolic with the cord of her headphones wrapping around them. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**_

* * *

 _L_

L gripped his knees so tightly he felt like his fingers were going to break. There was a nest of snakes writhing in his gut, biting deep into his insides and pumping his veins with venom. Ukita was dead—dead because of _him._ If L had never asked for these officers to risk their lives and join the task force, Ukita just might still be alive. He had no idea how Kira managed to do kill the officer.

And now, on top of all that, Jack had taken off and was on her way to Sakura station.

L knew that Jack was fit—he saw her work out and knew she exercised before bed every night she could. However, he hadn't been prepared for her to be so damned fast: fast enough to outpace Aizawa and Matsuda. They'd returned to the hotel room crestfallen and telling L that she managed to get a cab. That had to be why she spoke English on the phone.

 _Damn that stupid girl._

Did she not just see Ukita die? There was the possibility that Kira had a list of the names of all the officers, since he'd had access to the task force's files before. Perhaps he was holding on to them for emergencies; But there was also the potential that he had another ability—a new ability. He could kill someone with their face alone now.

Which meant that the moment Jack showed up at the station, she was dead.

"We shouldn't just be sitting around watching television," Aizawa barked. "Nina might have the right idea on this one. We need to get those tapes! We need to get to Ukita!"

The officer's voice fractured when he spoke his comrade's name.

"Aizawa, please, I thought I convinced you outside," Matsuda begged. "You saw how Ukita just died like that... if we go, we're dead too."

"So then that means Nina's as good as dead," Aizawa pointed out. "But it's okay for her to run off?"

"We tried to catch her!" Matsuda argued. "Aizawa, seriously, calm down."

"Calm down?!" Aizawa bellowed. "You realize what this means, don't you? The fake badges didn't do shit! Kira has our names!"

"Not necessarily," L said.

His sudden interjection took the officers off guard. They both looked to him.

"If Kira had the names and faces of all the members of the task force, what is keeping him from killing all of us?" L purposed. "Nina and I deduced that Kira needs a name and face to kill them, but after seeing this... it is possible he only needs a face. All I can say for certain is that Ukita died because he went over there. Kira is either inside Sakura, or somewhere where he can see people entering Sakura. There's also a possibility that he set up a surveillance camera beforehand."

"Well if Kira is there, all the more reason for us to go!" Aizawa countered. "Or are you just going to let Nina go in there by herself and possibly get killed?!"

L got out of his chair, movements so abrupt he nearly lost his footing.

"Ryuzaki, you can't mean to go after her, can you?" Matsuda asked, eyes wide. "You just said it yourself, Kira might only need a face to kill!"

To be honest, L didn't know. He stood there, conflict striking his heart with blades of all kinds. He knew how incredibly dangerous it would be to pursue Jack. He would not be able to catch her before she reached Sakura TV. If anything, he'd be arriving just outside the station to most likely receive the same fate as Ukita.

L knew all of this, but at the same time, his body was straining to sprint out of the room the same way that Jack had. His leg muscles twitched and his hands clenched. What was she thinking? Why would she just take off like that? He knew she and Ukita bonded somewhat during her time on the task force. Did her emotions overwhelm her to cause her to run off?

But no. L had spent nearly four months with Jack. He knew there was something deep and wild and almost inconceivable within her. From the truths she had divulged to him, L understood that she had been through a lot. When she spoke of being adopted—of the family that took her in—there was a new gleam in here eyes, a new tone to her voice. When she was speaking to L seriously, when she was telling him her truths, she was like a completely different person.

It told L that Jack was very good at keeping her emotions under control. It told him that Jack was used to working with a storm whirling within her. She would not just snap like that. Which meant that if Jack didn't run off based on fury and rage alone, she knew that she was going to be safe. She was too smart to go and get herself killed.

Jack was hiding something from him. L always knew that. Her actions had something to do with what she refused to—or couldn't—tell him. All this time, L was getting the impression that Jack truly wanted to tell him everything, but there was something stopping her. Something that was possibly even threatening her.

 _"He's not happy I told you about him."_

Those were the words Jack used when she confessed to him about Nox. She had been smiling somewhat. She seemed amused. But when she first mentioned Nox, she had looked... scared. Her eyes were downcast and her hands were worrying the fabric of her jacket.

Was it possible that this monster she was seeing—this Nox—was the one keeping her from telling L the full truth? She said that she knew _what Nox was_. One would think she was implying she knew that Nox was just in her head; just a part of her illness. Yet the way she worded it... L couldn't help but wonder if she believed Nox was something more.

Just when L thought he was piecing Jack together, something else happened to make her even more complicated; and now, she was sprinting head first into perilous danger.

"Ryuzaki?" Matsuda called his name again, stepping into his line of sight. The officer looked concerned. "Ryuzaki, you can't rush off too. Everything you said was true."

"I know," L finally said. He looked at the TV again. "I know..."

The detective sat back into his chair, perching carefully on the edge and gripping his lower legs with trembling hands. He stared at his toes as they curled around the cushion.

"Please understand, Aizawa," L murmured. "If you go there, you will be killed."

"No, I don't understand!" Aizawa barked, gripping L by the shoulder, bunching his shirt in a fist. "Ukita might have been murdered by Kira! I thought we were risking our lives to catch that bastard!"

"Risking your life and doing something that could easily rob you of your life are complete opposites!" L snapped back, not looking at him. "I understand your feelings, but please, try to control yourself. Ukita is dead... Nina has gone after him... we can't lose you too, Aizawa."

The trembling got worse. Aizawa must have felt it, for he released L as if he'd been shocked by lightning. They weren't used to seeing him like this. Vulnerable. Emotional. Ukita's death was enough. But if L lost Jack too... or anyone else on the task force...

He went into this knowing that people could lose their lives, but he hadn't expected it to sting this horrifically. He clenched his jaw, determined not to show any further weakness. He had to be strong for them. He could hardly tell Aizawa to control himself if he was on the verge of sprinting out the door after Jack.

"What do you think Nina was thinking?" Matsuda breathed. "I thought she was more collected than this..."

"She is," L said, finally raising his eyes to the TV again. "It could be that she has some sort of plan."

"So it's okay for her to go?" Aizawa demanded.

"It's too late to do anything about that now," L pointed out. "Believe me, if I had any control of the matter, she would have never left. I didn't... I didn't expect her to do something like this either. So we just have to hope she has something up her sleeve."

And hope that they weren't going to see Jack die just like Ukita.

* * *

 _Jack_

The cab driver let me off two blocks away from Sakura. I didn't argue with him and gave him five thousand more yen. Once I was out of the cab, I ensured my face was still effectively covered nose down and pulled up my hood. Music pumped in my right ear from my ear bud, fast-paced electronic. I might have been imagining it, but it made me feel like I was running faster.

Nox kept with me, flying just behind as I ran down the street for the station. I'd never been there myself, but I recognized it from what I just saw on TV, and... and by the sight of Ukita's motionless form laying just outside the doors.

Some part of me hoped that it hadn't been a heart attack—that Ukita had just passed out—that he was still alive. I ran to his side, and my legs gave out on me the moment I was within reaching distance. My knees hit the pavement hard; I would at least have bruises, if not some scrapes. With shaking hands, I gripped Ukita's shoulder.

"Uki," I breathed, my voice slightly muffled by the lower half of my shirt. "Uki, come on."

I wanted to pretend like I didn't notice how stiff his body was. How his eyes were wide and staring, glassed over with nothingness.

"Uki, you stupid moron," I rasped as a sob convulsed through my body. "Why would you just take off like that?"

"You aren't really one to talk," Nox drawled from beside me.

His words angered me, but I didn't dare speak out to him or acknowledge him in any fashion. I knew that at least the news cameras were on me, and quite possibly Kira's eyes.

"KIRA!" I bellowed, jumping to my feet and glaring around. "You son of a bitch, you're DONE, you hear me?!" I was yelling in English by default. Probably not the best idea, but too late. My fury was already flooding my head to the point where I didn't care about my own well being anymore. It wasn't like Kira could ever get my real name anyway.

It was then I heard it.

There was an engine—a large vehicle, like a truck or trailer or—

An armored vehicle.

There was an armored vehicle the size of a freaking bus tearing down the road at full speed right for the front doors of Sakura. The doors that I was standing directly in front of.

"Piss it," I breathed.

Of course I could get out of the way in time, but some part of me was horrified at the thought of Ukita's body being mutilated by this oncoming missile of a vehicle. I ran over to him and gripped his arms, pulling with all my might. I ended up twisting my torso around in an attempt to sort of fling Ukita out of harm's way.

It worked, but it still left me standing in the path of the huge slab of metal on wheels. I saw the lights growing brighter and consume the whole of my vision. My body was leaping to the side. All I could hear was the engine's bellow and the tires screaming against the pavement.

For a moment, I was suspended in mid air. I closed my eyes, uncertain if I was going to clear being struck down. Regardless, I braced myself for some sort of impact, be it with the ground, the vehicle's front bumper, or both.

Oddly enough, the pain didn't come first: it was the jolt—the sudden and abrupt sensation of my fall coming to a halt and something snapping in my arm. It was almost like cracking a knuckle, except the sensation came from the center of my ulna bone. It was a place where there was no natural place to bend or for a joint to possibly pop.

Then my body was rolling—a rag doll tossed to the ground from an angry child's hand. I rolled and rolled until I finally hit the wall that curled around the entrance to Sakura. Even still, I just felt jumbled. Confused. My head was stuck living the sensation of rolling, making my eyes unable to focus. I began to push myself up, and then, at long last, the pain hit me just about as hard as that armored vehicle would have.

See, the thing was, I managed to escape being struck by that huge monster of an automobile. However, the wild leap I took to the side had led me to land awkwardly on my arm—and by awkwardly, I mean that there was blood beginning to seep through my sleeve and my arm was bent in a way it should not have been. Definitely the ulna bone.

"Aahh-ha-ha-ow, shit-butt-twat-weasel," I rasped as the full pain of the busted bone swooped in.

My eyes started to water and I wanted to scream. Warm blood slowly slid down my sleeve, dripping off my fingertips.

"Douche-canoe-ass-butter!" I wimpered.

I tended to just splurt out a lot of random curses and words when I was under intense trauma. Austin always referred to it as the "Fuck My Life Chant."

I lifted my head, breathing through clenched teeth, to see I hadn't noticed something rather insane during my arm-breaking episode. The armored vehicle had plowed straight through Sakura's front doors. Glass was scattered everywhere, glistening like fallen stars all over the ground. Ukita's body was safely out of the path of destruction, so at least I wasn't enduring excruciating pain in vein.

From around the vehicle came a familiar figure rushing toward me.

"Y-Yagami?" I managed to rasp.

Chief Yagami stood before me, looking exhausted and weathered. However, the only reason I could see his face was because I was on the ground. Yagami had taken a jacket and wore it over his head and around his face like a hood. He was panting, clearly exerted by his actions.

"Nina, is that you?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

I nodded, managing to sit up and grip his extending hand with the one on my uninjured arm.

"I am so sorry," Yagami said. "I thought you would move faster but... you wanted to get Ukita."

"Stupid move, maybe," I said. My entire body was tight with pain and sweat was forming on my brow. "I'm glad you realized showing your face is a bad thing."

"It was the only thing that made sense," Yagami replied. "We need to get you something to splint that arm—and it needs to be set back in place."

Those words alone made me feel ten times more nauseated that I already was.

"First thing's first," I said. "We need to stop this broadcast. We need those tapes."

"Nina, you're bleeding and I can see you're in a lot of pain," Yagami stated.

"It can wait!" I insisted. I turned my head and saw there was a security guard gaping at us. He was clearly startled by a whole freaking bus crashing into the building. "You! Where's the station airing the Kira video?" I demanded.

He flinched and pointed deeper into the building. "S-Second floor!" he stammered.

"Let's go," I said, and ran into the building.

"Nina!" Yagami yelled after me and followed suit.

We didn't have time to worry about my stupid arm, as much as it hurt. Adrenaline was flooding my body, and I needed to use it while it lasted. We had to stop the broadcast. We had to get those tapes. And with luck, we had to find where Kira was hiding around here.

* * *

 _L_

She was resilient, L had to give her that much.

When he saw Jack appear in front of the doors at Sakura station, his heart had jumped slightly.

"Someone else has arrived outside Sakura station," the reporter said as Jack knelt by Ukita and shook him slightly. "We cannot make out his face. He appears to be a young man wearing a mask and hood."

Young man? Well, Jack was a touch small in the chest department, and L saw that the mask she was wearing came from the lower half of her shirt. He's never seen her mid-drift before, but it appeared all her exercise gave her some defined abs. He supposed it was easy to mistake Jack for a male right then.

Covering her face though... that was smart. If it turned out it was true that Kira could now kill with only a face, then hiding her features was the best thing she could do here. That was why she knew she could survive this.

It was entirely plausible that she deduced that on her own, but L could not help but think she had more knowledge than she was sharing. After all, she stated her father was killed in the same method that Kira used to murder his victims—but it wasn't Kira. It implied she'd faced something like this before and won.

Jack's form was trembling. She raised her head and began to scream. L could see the strain in her shoulders and the fabric around her face moving slightly as she did so.

"He appears to be angry—we have no idea who this boy could be or why he's here—he seems to have some attachment to the officer that collapsed," the reporter said.

Then, there was sudden light on the screen. Since the camera was angled to look at Sakura from the front, L could not tell what the source of it was. Jack's head whipped around for a moment before she desperately grabbed at Ukita's limp form and began pulling him to the side. The lights were growing brighter, and L concluded it had to be a vehicle right before Jack managed to fling Ukita out of harm's way.

For a split second, Jack was out of sight and all that showed on the screen was a huge vehicle. It then crashed straight through the front doors of Sakura station. L felt his entire body seize up. He gripped his knees tightly, leaning forward in his chair. Jack—had she been struck? He finally spotted her form laying motionless against the wall near the front doors. His heart gave a resounding thud in his chest. His gut's contents were replaced with lead.

She couldn't be... not like that, not after how damned resourceful and stubborn she was.

And she wasn't. Jack slowly sat up, body shaking. She held out her arm awkwardly. L could see that her sleeve was darkening. She was alive, but she wasn't unscathed.

"An armored vehicle has just crashed through the front of Sakura station!" the reporter was exclaiming. "It appears to be a police vehicle—I repeat, a police armored vehicle has just crashed into the building!"

"That's one way to get into the building without showing your face," L murmured, his heart finally starting to relax now that he saw Jack was still able to move. "But if he got Ukita, Kira might be in the building. If he's in the lobby, this could prove very risky..." He pushed a thumb to his mouth, biting hard on his nail. In that moment, he didn't care about the little nagging voice that Jack had managed to nurture telling him to stop. She wasn't out of the woods yet, and that armored car...

A figure got out of the car and ran over to Jack. It appeared to be a man and he was wearing a jacket over his head like a hood- hiding his face from almost every angle. Clever. Jack took the man's hand without any hesitation, and then the two of them ducked inside.

L had a good hunch as to who that man was.

* * *

 _Jack_

A few years ago, I worked a case that I got personally involved in, much like this one. But unlike this one, I never once told anyone I was actually Jack. Then, I was Alice Shire. Yes, it was obvious it was an alias, but the people I worked with always believe I was what Watari is to L: Jack's spokesman. His right hand man—or woman in this case.

I had been tracking and trying to expose a sex trafficking ring in Atlanta Georgia. I hated the heat there—the humidity and stickiness of the air. Not to mention, big cities in the US were typically just unpleasant to be in- at least for me. The bustle and rudeness of the crowds, the stench that hung in the alleys and streets in the low income sections. All it was enough to make me want to bathe in hand sanitizer for a week.

The idea was to use myself as bait. I know, incredibly reckless idea. There was a hefty number of horrific things that could have happened to me. But I had training from Austin. I was skilled at hand-to-hand combat and could outrun almost anyone. I was convinced that I could defend myself against these people, and had every intention of catching them red-handed.

I had been working with a small team of police personal that focused on stopping these kind of things. I used my normal tricks to get their trust as Jack, then introduced Alice as Jack's on site detective. They were not keen on me playing bait in the least. But this particular ring of sex traffickers had been evading them for almost two years now. They had next to no leads when I first took the case, and were desperate for something, anything to catch these sick assholes.

So there I went, stalking the streets where they got tips that girls would disappear. Sticking to neighborhoods where the most victims had been snatched from. I dressed slightly risqué, with skinny jeans and a tight tank top. But I made sure to still make myself look young and innocent at the same time. Proving that I had a bod, but there was a good chance I was unspoiled goods. Ugh. Just thinking like that gave me shivers of disgust.

It was around ten at night, the sun was long gone, and I strode in and out of the glowing radius of the street lights. There was a button attached to my belt, and if I pressed it, it was going to send my GPS signal to my team. They were parked all around the neighborhood, and would dive in on my location. It was my eleventh night trying this crap and finally a car approached from down the road. As it went by, it suddenly gave out. The person behind the wheel pulled awkwardly to the side of the road across the street from where I was walking.

Then, out stepped a woman. Not just any woman—but Dianna Wheeler, one of my team's key informants on the culprits we were after. Now, Dianna knew Jack was involved in the case, but she'd never seen Alice. She wasn't even privy to the fact that Alice was a part of the team. It was part of Jack's stipulations- I ensured my team was the only ones who saw me as Alice and knew I was working with them.

Dianna, from what I had gathered, was a sweet, middle-aged woman with two daughters and a son. Her husband had passed away some time ago, but left his family with a hefty amount of cash. She was well off, and as an upstanding citizen, she was able to gather a lot of information for us from the abundance of people she knew.

"Oh, well this is just great," she muttered as she glared at her car and placed her hands on her hips. "I'm going to be so late..."

I felt myself hesitating, looking toward her. Of course, I couldn't tell her who I was. But part of me felt inclined to help. The other part couldn't help but wonder why in the hell Dianna Wheeler, a wealthy soccer mom, was doing in the run down low class neighborhood I strode in.

"Oh—oh, miss?" She had spotted me and waved in my direction. "Do you have a phone I can borrow?"

Dianna didn't make a move to approach me. Instead, she smiled in my direction, awaiting me to go to her.

My spine tingled slightly. This was way beyond dangerous. I began to walk across the street, my footsteps seemed too loud in my ears.

"Yeah, I have a cell," I said, digging into my purse. "What happened?"

"Oh, the battery has been acting up the past few days," Dianna sighed. She had a slightly lined face with long brown hair done up in a prim bun. Her face seemed gentle; kind. "I knew I should have just listened to my husband and get it replaced."

It had taken all I had within me not to freeze in place. Dianna's husband was dead—why would she say something like that? Of course, I came to the correct conclusion within a heartbeat. Dianna had been feeding my team false leads- she was a part of the people we were after. She was asking for my phone so I couldn't call the police. But she didn't know about the belt.

"Sucks," I said, taking out my small flip phone and handing it to her. "I wish I knew how to help. Do you think you'll have to get a tow?"

Dianna flipped open my phone. "Oh, no, probably not."

The back door of Dianna's car suddenly flew open, but I had been anticipating it. I pressed the button on my belt and took off just as a big burly man lunged for me. He missed my by mere inches. For a moment, he didn't give chase; perhaps they knew how risky it was to run after a girl out in the open like this. However, Dianna must have sensed something was wrong. Perhaps it was because of how prepared I was for the attack, or how fast I could run... or it was because the wallpaper on my phone said, "GOTCHA."

"Code Blue, Samuel!" she snapped. "Do not let her get away!"

So then the big'un began to sprint after me.

I knew my belt was giving off my location to my team. I just had to keep clear until they showed up. I wanted to keep to open streets because someone might see and try to assist- or even call the police. But at the same time, despite Dianna's orders to the man, I didn't trust that he wouldn't run off should witnesses show up. So, doing something that probably seemed idiotic to the giant chasing me, I darted down the next alleyway.

As my legs pumped under me, I realized that skinny jeans were probably not the best choice to have worn for this. The skin around my joints were getting rubbed raw by the denim. I managed to put a good amount of distance between me and Samuel. But then, as I turned to go down another section of the dirt alleyways, my runners skidded on the gravel. I shot out my arms to catch myself, but I was at such an odd angle, I ended up landing very, very awkwardly on my left wrist.

Pain erupted almost instantaneously, along with a loud CRACK. I couldn't move my hand without it sending thousands of stabs through my arm. But Samuel's footsteps were coming hard and fast behind me. I shoved myself to my feet, and forced myself to look beyond the pain. To just focus on my legs flying beneath me- of my body shooting forward to the end of the alley where I hoped beyond hope my team was waiting for me.

Samuel was nearly on my heels because of my spill, and despite my raw determination and the adrenaline now fueling me, I wasn't as fast as normal. If I let up—even for a single heartbeat—it was over. I told myself over and over, _Just move. Just move, move, MOVE!_

I finally broke from the alleys and into a next to abandoned neighborhood. My feet thudded hard against the sidewalk as I tore down it. I could take a left up here and head toward a busy street. Even at this hour there were cars coming and going. But I couldn't risk letting this guy ditching. I had to have him caught- I had to expose Dianna.

So, with my crippled wrist cradled to my chest, I took a right. My legs scrambled slightly at the sharp turn. Samuel tried to grab me. I felt his fingertips brush the back of my shirt. My eyes were beginning to water from the nauseating pain in my wrist. It was already swelling. But I couldn't stop. Not just for my own well being- but to ensure this asshole was caught.

But my luck only ever ran in spurts. With each step, I was slowing. What Samuel lacked in speed, he outdid me in endurance. I was the cheetah, he was the gazelle. Funny. Usually a cheetah wouldn't be scared of getting caught by a gazelle. Yet when a large, strong hand gripped my upper arm, I felt my heart rocket around in my ribcage pinball style while my blood iced over.

He began to bring a cloth toward my face. I brought up my other arm, the one with the busted wrist, and slammed it into his elbow, and _holy shit,_ did that hurt. It took a lot not to scream in pain, but it forced him to drop the fabric to the ground. I then put my foot over it, but his grip on me was still unrelenting.

"Slippery one," he grunted as he tried to yank me closer to him. I thought my arm was going to come out of its socket. "But certainly cute. I don't know why D thinks you're with the pigs. You're too young." He grinned. He was actually a rather well kept man: neat hair (despite the slight sheen from sweat from the exercise I forced him to endure) and clean shaven. He wore a black track suit that looked new. "Even if you are with them, you'll fetch a nice price."

Gross. Gross, gross, gross. Disgust and rage consumed me, and the pain in my wrist was forgotten.

"You know," I said. "I hope that if time travel is a thing, I come back to this moment, just to watch myself do this to you over and over again."

I then punched him in the throat, and as he released me in surprise, wheezing out a cough, I kneed him in the groin—hard. Samuel fell to his knees, letting out a small squeaking sound. It was only then did the agony of my wound came flooding back. The hand I used to punch him was the one with the broken wrist.

"Shit-ass-butt-babies!" I rambled, clutching my arm to my chest as my eyes watered relentlessly.

That was when there were flashing red and blue lights, and two vehicles showed up at the same time on the street, one from each direction. A third arrived shortly afterward. My team had come along just in time to get Samuel in cuffs and get my ass to a hospital.

Later I discovered they managed to snag Dianna before she could make her escape. She'd been making money off that sex trafficking for years. That had been where her wealth came from, not her dead husband. We managed to save a lot of young women and men—even girls and boys—when we got those sick pieces of shit incarcerated.

The point was, I had dealt with being in extreme situations with extreme pain before. In a way, the one with Dianna and Samuel was even more dangerous than me running through Sakura TV station with Yagami. I knew Kira couldn't kill me, and he wasn't intending on selling me on the black market. Here, I had the advantage. It was other people that were in danger in this case.

My busted arm was still causing me an intense amount of discomfort. I kept it close to me, much like I had done with my wrist years ago on that night running from Samuel. The adrenaline seemed to make the pain more rounded, like it was a consistent heavy ache rather than a sharp, stabbing bite.

 _Just move. Just move, move, MOVE!_

The same crap I spewed to myself as last time, but it helped. I pushed on. I kept up with Yagami, my breath making my fabric mask flutter.

We finally reached the studio. Yagami burst through the doors, his jacket falling off his head as he did so. "POLICE!" he bellowed. "Stop this broadcast immediately!"

Part of me was concerned for Yagami's face being exposed, but I didn't think Kira would be in here. I stepped in after him, heart hammering. There was a camera crew along with the reporter. They all looked at us, startled but mute.

"I said stop the Kira video NOW!" Yagami shouted, storming forward.

Man. The Chief could be scary when he wanted.

"Just wait a minute, detective," one of the men begged. He was portly and had a short bowl cut of black hair. A mustache hugged his upper lip and glasses were perched on his nose. "If we stop the video, we'll be killed!"

"I don't care!" Yagami spat. "An innocent man is dead!"

"Do you guys want to be responsible for Kira increasing his power?" I demanded. "Killing criminals is one thing. Sure, a lot of people can say that no one will miss them—that they deserved what they got—but that man out there..." I began to trembled from more than just pain. "He was just doing his job. He was trying to save people!"

"Uh... um, today's video just finished," another man murmured.

We were too late. All this—Ukita dying, me risking my hide, Yagami risking his—all of it was for nothing? No—there had to be a chance Kira could still be nearby. If we could just find him...

"So it's you, is it?" Yagami set the portly man in his sights. "You're the demegawa who's been playing up the Kira case for all it's worth, putting out all those specials despite the warnings we issued? You think this whole thing is very funny, do you?!"

The man was speechless. He stared at Yagami, slack jawed and eyes wide. Finally, he found his voice. "I had no idea it would end up like this," he said, sweat beading on his forehead. "I swear it. Please, go easy on me, sir, ha ha..." His laughter was tight with nerves.

"That director that Kira sent the tapes to, that was you, was it?" Yagami demanded.

"Yes," the man replied hesitantly.

"We need those," I said. The adrenaline was slowly fading now that I wasn't running. My arm's pain began to sing its song of agony ever louder. "If you'd be so kind to hand them over in a nice little basket or something, that'd be swell."

"We need those tapes, she's correct," Yagami said. "The entire package, exactly as Kira gave it to you."

"But..." The man shook his head. "It's like I said, if I do that, we'll all be killed."

Yagami's hand was a blur as he whipped out something from his side. It took me a moment to realize it was a gun. The Chief aimed it at the portly man's chin, his eyes like ice as he glared at him.

"Hand it over!" he ordered. "Do that, and you don't have to worry about dying this instant!"

Hoo boy, I had to remind myself not to piss Yagami off. Even Nox let out a low whistle.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" the man gasped, taking a wary step back. "Are you insane?"

"This is the direct result of you putting out all those stories and making Kira like some kind of star," Yagami snarled. "If you ask me, you're reaping what you sowed."

"You should just shoot him," I said. It caused even Yagami to glance back at me in surprise. "He clearly did this for the views. He says it's because Kira threatened their lives, but let's look at the big picture, shall we? You're a sleaze. A piece of garbage. Ukita _died_ because of you!"

I began to stalk forward, but Yagami held out an arm to stop me. "Let me handle this," he urged me under his breath.

I continued to glare at the man for a moment before pushing a cup of pens off a nearby table and on the floor. When all else fails, be a pissed off cat. Yagami shook his head and returned his attention to the man.

"Should I follow my friend's advice?" he asked in a tight voice. "Or will you hand over the tapes? If, after watching all the tapes, I decide it's safe to air them, I will return them to you."

"All right, all right," the man rasped, turning and going over to one of the drawers.

I leaned against the wall, gritting my teeth and squeezing my eyes shut. The pain was really getting to me now. My breath came in heavy huffs through my nose. My mask fluttered over my mouth.

"Is he okay?" one of the other men asked.

 _He_ huh? Fine, whatever, I'd roll with it. It would be better if no one knew who I was in the least.

"Peachy," I replied dryly. "Chief, I'm going to do a quick sweep of the area."

"What?" Yagami's head snapped around to look at me. "No, that's crazy- you're hurt. You need to sit down and rest until we can get you medical treatment."

"I'm not letting the chance that Kira is around here slip by," I said, pushing myself off the wall. "You've got this part covered. I'm going to find the bastard that killed Uki."

I knew that Yagami wouldn't leave the studio- not without the tapes and any copies the staff of Sakura TV made. I was the best one to go against Kira head on if he had the Shinigami Eyes. Even if my mask fell, he wouldn't see my name. So with this in mind, I ran out the door, doing my best to ignore the pain raising in my arm and threatening to consume me.


	18. SHINIGAMI EXIST!

_**A/N::: Sorry this is a tad late, darlings. I'm a bit under the weather. But here it is, and hope you enjoy the latest chapter!**_

* * *

 _Misa_

Misa Amane leaned toward the screen, tilting her head to the side. Her attention had been snagged by the strange young man that arrived shortly after the first officer she'd killed. He was clever enough to wear a hood and a mask over the lower part of his face. Misa couldn't make out hardly any of his features at all.

Even after getting wounded when the armored car barreled in, he went with the other man into the station, and a few moments later, he came back into the lobby. His movements were slowed and he clutched his arm to his side.

"Who is clever enough to know to cover their face?" Misa wondered aloud, frowning. "Do you think that's Kira?"

"Why would Kira arrive on the scene and be companions with the police?" a voice queried from behind her. "It doesn't seem likely."

Misa nodded. "It might even be L. Fascinating." She narrowed her eyes. "Does he mean to stop me?"

A tall figure took a step forward to stand at her side. Misa glanced up at the strange being that was Rem, her Shinigami companion. Rem's face carried a purple hue, and lavender hair poked out from the bandages that wrapped around her head. The bandages were everywhere, which gave her the likeness of a mummy.

"Be careful, Misa," Rem urged. "This could get out of hand."

"Hardly." Misa turned her attention back to the screen, beaming. "With the Eyes, I have this completely under control."

Sure enough, another squad car arrived and two officers stepped out. Misa saw the young man seemed to get a burst of energy. He waved at them, clearly yelling something, but it was too late. Misa already caught the names of each of them hovering over their heads. She put pen to paper, and forty seconds later, the both of them collapsed.

The masked man froze as he approached them. Slowly, he turned his head around, scanning the back of the lobby. He paused, and Misa got the impression his shadowed eyes were locked with hers. He'd found the camera.

"Damn it," Misa hissed through gritted teeth. "That's not fair—if I could just see his stupid face he'd be dead!"

She kicked the leg of her desk so hard it hurt. She let out a whimper and clutched her toes. When she looked back up, she saw the young man had picked up some of the rubble the armored vehicle had knocked loose. He was throwing them at the camera with his good arm.

"No, no, no!" Misa cried. "He's going to ruin everything!"

Sure enough, on his fifth throw, the rubble struck the camera and Misa's feed went black. She let out a infuriated shriek, tempted to throw her keyboard across the room, but then she smiled.

"Not like it matters—they'll still air my tapes; they're too scared not to. And, the news can give me the visual I need." Misa turned to her TV which was already on and tuned to Sakura TV.

They had a camera aimed at the front entrance of the station from outside. It wasn't as clear of a shot as Misa would like to have, but she would probably be able to glimpse enough of people's faces as they came in to try and stop her.

And she'd find out who that young man was eventually and kill him too.

* * *

 _Jack_

I watched as the camera fell down, shattered from being struck by the rubble I tossed. I was proud of myself for spotting it, but at the same time I was furious. Whoever killed Ukita and those other two officers was not here. They were somewhere safe and sound, murdering innocent people from afar.

Shit.

It seemed like the pain in my arm tripled. No longer driven by the notion that the killer might be close, all the energy in my body vanished. I fell to my knees, the world around me beginning to heave and sway. My sleeve was completely soaked; this hoodie was as good as ruined.

There was a buzzing in my pocket. In all honesty, I completely forgot I had my cell on me. I pulled it out, flipping it open without bothering to look who was calling.

"Yo," I said in English. My voice was thin and weak.

"Jack, are you all right?" L's voice demanded. "I just spoke with Chief Yagami—he said you ran off on your own."

"I did," I replied. "But it doesn't matter. The murderer isn't here. Camera was set up. I threw a rock at it. Broke it to shit." I grinned even though he couldn't see me. I was dazed and only able to form simple sentences.

"What happened to your arm?" L asked.

"Oh, it broke." I looked up at the ceiling, blinking blearily. "Ulna is poking out."

"How have you been functioning?" L demanded. "You need to go to a hospital. Just hold on, there is help on the way."

"You told them to cover their—?" I began to ask.

"Of course," L responded. "You'll find riot masks do quite a bit to cover one's features."

"Cool," I rasped. "Hey. Listen, Ryu. Make... make sure my iPod is charged for me. It's almost dead."

"What? What do you...?"

I didn't hear the rest of L's sentence. Just as the sound of sirens consumed the air, the darkness that was clouding the edges of my vision swooped in. I was swathed in shadow, and finally freed of the pain in my arm.

* * *

 _L_

L was beginning to think he was spending too much time in the hospital.

When the nurses led him to where Jack was being kept, he could barely keep from urging them to run instead of walk. They opened the door to her room, and it was only then L could breathe again.

She was still unconscious—passed out from the pain and shock, the doctors told him. Going with the pretense that he was her boyfriend and living companion while she was here in Japan, they allowed him in. They'd fallen for her fake ID of Nina Forner without batting an eye. The police were the only ones who knew she was the same person who was on the TV in front of Sakura. They presented her to the hospital as someone who was found far away from the station who fell down some steps.

 _Idiot._

L wished she was awake just so he could tell her what a moron she was. But, at the same time, she did figure out a lot of things. The camera that had been up in the lobby of the station was key evidence, and her knocking it down might have saved more lives. From what Chief Yagami said, she managed to help scare the director at Sakura to hand over the tapes without bloodshed.

"Thank you," L said to the nurse. "I'd like some time alone with her."

"Of course," the nurse replied, bowing her head slightly. "Just hit the call button if you need anything."

Once she left and the door was closed, L perched himself in the chair next to Jack's bed. Her arm had already been set and encased in a cast. It was blue, just like her hair. L wondered if they picked that color on purpose. There was an IV in her good arm, and a few cuts that had been peppered on her face were dressed and bandaged. Her breaths were deep and even.

L knew they had to cut her hoodie off of her, since there was the concern of the protruding bone. The rest of her belongings were in a small baggy by the bedside table. Looking at it, L remembered Jack's request to charge her iPod. He didn't have the cord with him—he'd left in too much of a panic.

It wasn't entirely wise for him to be here. If there was a way that Kira tracked which ambulance Jack was hauled into and what hospital she was taken to, they could also be keeping track of people who visited her. L couldn't help but glance around the room, seeking out any cameras, but he found none.

The others of the task force were getting the tapes and the envelope they came in down to forensics. Aizawa promised they'd scan for fingerprints, any potential saliva on the stamp, where the tape came from where the envelope was purchased, everything they could possibly do. L kept the copies of the tapes in the hotel room, intent of viewing them himself, but that would wait until tomorrow.

He'd never had a moment in his life where he willingly put off case work, even for something like this. But he knew he wouldn't be able to focus until he saw for himself that Jack was okay.

An hour passed and Jack still slept. L was already growing stir crazy. He stood and went to her baggy of things; perhaps he could ask to borrow a charger. He pulled out her yellow iPod—the one she used during the day. The screen came to life when his thumb hit the wheel, but the odd thing was, it was almost fully charged.

L slowly went back to his chair and sat again. He stared at the device in his hand. Why would she tell him to charge it and claim it was nearly dead when that wasn't the case? And why were those the last words she said to him? She never wanted him to mess with her iPods before, but in this case, it was like she was trying to get him to.

Opening the menu, L looked at all the options. There was a section for music, movies, photos, notes, and settings. L went to pictures and only found three photos of different dogs. That didn't help him. However, in the notes section, there were four to read.

The oldest one stated: _A's birthday is tomorrow DON'T FORGET AGAIN._

A. That must stand for Austin, her brother. It was dated nearly two years ago on March 9th. Well, now L knew when Jack's brother's birthday was.

The next one was nearly six moths after that. It read: _Get extra oil paints—you won't remember why this is here in the morning, but it's important I swear!_

The second to newest note, which was dated the morning after the last, said: _Never drink again._

And finally, the latest note. L stared at it for a long time. His heart was beginning to pound in his ears.

There, in all capital letters, were two simple words.

 _SHINIGAMI EXIST!_

Everything began to click into place. The way that Kira was doing this was beyond natural means. It made no sense how he could kill the way he did. Even Jack stated that it had to be supernatural. Then, there was the fact that Jack knew something—something substantial but wouldn't—or couldn't—share it. She kept dropping hints, giving clues, but she never divulged the whole truth.

Then, there was Nox. Nox who was supposedly something only she could hear and see because of her illness. Nox who she stated she knew what he _was—_ not that he wasn't real. Nox who was angry she told L about him. The date on the note was recent. So Jack wanted L to see this; she wanted him to see it because she couldn't outright tell him. Not without consequences.

And a god of death could certainly deal consequences.

 _L, did you know gods of death love apples?_

Kira's message suddenly made far too much sense.

But it was still absurd. To think that Shinigami existed... that this was all caused by something of legend and myth. Yet at the same time, it was the only thing that fit.

L remembered Jack quoting Sherlock Holmes to him.

 _"Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."_

He'd assumed that it was just Jack going on about Sherlock Holmes again. Had she actually been trying to tell him, even back then, to expect something impossible? This changed everything and he couldn't even talk to her about it. If this Nox was a Shinigami and followed her around, there was a chance he'd kill her for telling. That had to be what was keeping her from just telling L outright.

He closed the notes and slowly set the iPod next to the bedside table. The detective stared at his hands as they gripped his knees. Shinigami... Was Kira a Shinigami or was he using one? Was it the same one that followed Jack? Was Nox responsible for all of this? No—Jack wouldn't talk to him so carefree if he was. She snapped at him a lot, but it was still in an almost friendly way. L would guess if Nox was Kira and Jack knew it, she would treat him with a lot more disdain.

Another thing came to his mind. Jack had told him Nox started helping her with cases with the one with the clowns. Of course, L had seen that in the news reports. After the Detective Wars, he'd made certain to keep track of everything Jack did. She seemed intent on giving him that information, but why?

L bit down on his thumb nail. He hoped Jack didn't happen to wake up before he figured this out, his wrist stung just thinking about her smacking it. He thought about the cases after that. Between then and now, Jack worked about sixteen major cases that was featured in the media. So Nox had been with her for at least six to seven months prior to her coming to Japan.

This was interesting, but not entirely useful information. There had to be more to it. L glared at his toes, running them over one another. She wanted him to know when Nox showed up... but if how long he was with her didn't matter, what did? Perhaps... perhaps the case prior. She told L that the clown case was the first one Nox helped with—not when she initially met him.

The case before the clowns... if L's memory served him, (and it almost always flawlessly did), that would be the case involving Victor Skor and his company Century Lock. It was a Ponzi Scheme—one that involved Skor and his board of directors pulling in quite a bit of money illegally, and Skor himself killing a few people who attempted to expose him.

L remembered the case, but not all of the exact details. He got out his cell and flipped it open, dialing out with deft fingers.

"Yes, Ryuzaki?" Watari answered on the other line. He was in the waiting room, most likely. L wanted to be alone when he came in to see Jack.

"I'm in need of a laptop," L said. "Could you please bring me one?"

"I have one in my suitcase, I'll be right there," Watari replied and hung up the phone.

L snapped his cell shut and pocketed it again. He stared at Jack's peaceful face, his eyes wide and searching. What exactly did Jack do to get involved with a god of death? Then he remembered—Jack told him her father died like Kira's victims—a heart attack caused by some outside, unknown source—but it wasn't Kira. So then there were multiple Shinigami; there had to be. If Nox was responsible, Jack wouldn't talk to him so calmly.

Watari arrived, gently knocking on the door before entering.

"Here you are, sir," he said, handing the black laptop to L. "How does Miss Forner fair?"

"Well enough," L said, pulling a tray that was typically reserved for food trays over to himself. "I'm on the brink of something big, Watari. As soon as Jack wakes up, I want us to go back to the hotel. If we need to bring medical equipment and a professional with us to look after her, so be it."

"You would allow a nurse inside the hotel room?" Watari asked.

"I've little choice," L said. "I can't work out here. And one potential witness is better than the entire hospital staff. What I need to look into right now isn't terribly risky." He connected to the hotel's WiFi and opened up the internet browser. His heart was like a wild moth in his chest, beating senselessly against his ribs. "Thank you, Watari. I will call you should I need anything else."

"Of course, sir." Watari bowed. "I believe I will find something for Miss Forner in the gift shop in the mean time. Would you like any sweets?"

"Some chocolate would be appreciated," L said, too focused on the laptop screen to look at his former care taker.

"As you wish," Watari said, then he departed from the room, closing the door behind him.

It didn't take L long to find a full article about the Victor Skor Ponzi Scheme and how Cyber Detective Jack managed to make him expose himself. The first thing that caught his attention was the name of one of the men who was attempting to catch Skor.

Shaun Townsend.

He was the last to die out of the five employees investigating Skor, and it was due to a heart attack. This had to be Jack's father. Two of the other employees died by mysterious means as well: one a car accident, the other seemingly poisoned, though they never found traces of what actually killed the woman. The last two were strangles, and were two of the first to die.

It came together quickly. Skor didn't start off with having Kira's killing abilities. But then, when he obtained them, he experimented. Of course, with the last one... Shaun Townsend... it was just a mere heart attack. Perhaps Skor wanted him dead quickly—perhaps he killed him on a split second decision. Heart attacks seemed to be the default way Kira could kill. It might take effort to kill people another way.

It was also noted that Shaun Townsend used to work for the secret service, and when L attempted to find more information on him, there was nothing. No records of him or his family anywhere on the web. Not even a picture. Either the secret service deleted all of his info, or it was Jack herself; L knew she was capable. And there was a good chance it was her father who taught her how to hack so efficiently.

Going back to the article, L read how Jack managed to slowly drive Skor insane by hacking into his computers. It seemed like she had been goading him. Usually, Jack would go in and expose her targets to the police in more direct ways. However, this time... there was emotion behind it—there was someone who wanted Skor to suffer and go mad.

This was it. Skor had had the same ability as Kira and when Jack had him caught, his powers were somehow lost—otherwise what was to stop Skor from killing more people and trying to escape prison? And now... and now she had a Shinigami with her. Nox.

If there were Shinigami, and there were more than one Shinigami... perhaps Nox was the one who helped Skor. But again, Jack got annoyed with Nox, but she didn't appear to hate him. So was it that just being followed by a Shinigami caused one to have that ability? That meant that Jack could have Kira's powers as well...

L closed the laptop. His mind was sprinting—running around a track with hurtles and obstacles of nearly every kind. This was impossible. Crazy. But he knew it to be true. Shinigami existed. Jack had been trying to help him this entire time with that knowledge, but she couldn't tell him because of Nox. That was why she came to Japan. That was why she showed her face to him. Because she felt like she was the only one who could stop this—because she knew the truth.

He wanted to shake her awake and drill her for more information. How did the power work? Was it the Shinigami who went out and killed for the human it was with? Was there a way to banish it—lock it away—negate it somehow?

But even if Jack was awake, L couldn't talk openly to her about this. She had kept the information from him for a reason. L knew that she could be in terrible danger if he let Nox know she'd managed to get some sort of message across.

So then lied the question of how he was going to communicate with her about this.

After a few moments of thinking, an idea came to him. L got to his feet, taking the iPod with him. Time to kill two birds with one stone. If Nox was with Jack when she requested L charge her iPod, he'd expect it to be drained of battery like she said. If he happened to be watching, this would help keep her white lie hidden—assuming Nox didn't just read over L's shoulder... But L had to hope that the Shinigami hadn't seen anything.

Out in the hall, L tracked down one of the nurses.

"Excuse me, I know that this might seem like a strange request, but do you happen to have a charger for this version of iPod?" He held out the yellow device to her. "My girlfriend would be much more lively when she wakes up if its fully charged and ready for her to listen to her music. It helps calm her down."

"Oh!" the nurse exclaimed. "That's one of the older ones, but I think one of the other nurses uses one. I'll ask him if we can borrow it. Do you mind waiting?"

"Not at all, thank you very much," L said.

As the nurse walked away, L opened the iPod's menu again and went to the notes. This time, he added one of his own.

 _Would messenger be possible to talk? When I ask you if you'd like some royal milk tea, if the answer is yes, agree, but ask for whip cream. If it is no, say yes, but ask for no honey. Then, when you get the chance, leave me another note here. Hand me the iPod under the pretense that you think it's broken and want to have me look at it. We will figure this out._

It was a long note, but out here in the hall, L was betting on the fact that Nox would stay with Jack, so he could put this in her iPod without him possibly knowing. All of this hung on the hope that Nox didn't see Jack's message and that he didn't follow L.

The nurse returned holding a cord and smiling.

"If you could just bring it back to me when you're done, that would be great," she said.

"Of course," L said, bowing to her after he took the charger. "Thank you again."

Back in Jack's room, he plugged in her iPod and locked it, setting it on the bedside table. She was still asleep. L glanced out the window, his heart wild within his chest. Jack had told him she was his Christmas gift and L now realized how priceless she was.

Yet... at the same time... L felt something else whirring in the back of his mind and churning in the pit of his stomach. If he wasn't careful, there was a good chance that this Nox would kill Jack. L knew that the threat of death had to be the thing holding her back—and it was guaranteed death. Jack was far too reckless for her own good. If there was even the smallest chance she could survive something, she did it.

Trying to talk to her about this could be crucial to the case, but at the same time... it risked her life. L worried the folds of his jeans near his knees with fingertips that were on the verge of trembling. The thought of losing Jack wasn't just about the fact that he'd lose a powerful asset in this case—this war on Kira. But... he'd lose her smile. Her vivid blue hair. Her infectious laugh. Her smacking his hand when he bit his nails. Her untamed sense of being like she was something wild and unreal.

L shook his head. He'd never felt this sensation for anyone before. He'd never yearned to be around somebody. He was one who loved being alone, isolated, just him and his thoughts. But now, when he was by himself, when Jack was sleeping or away, he found wherever he was—even if it was a crowded room—to be totally empty. He found that there was a dimness within him, and only when she stepped into view, only when he heard her voice, did the light return, pulsated and warm.

For a moment, L wondered to himself if this was just what it was like to have a friend—someone he cared for. However, he was close to Watari. He even enjoyed the old man's company—though it was in spurts. With Jack... he could be with her all day and still not be sick of her. Still, he wouldn't want her to leave him to go to bed.

No, this wasn't friendship he was feeling.

"Not good," L murmured softly, closing his eyes and hoping that he was wrong.


	19. I Don't Like His Style

_Jack_

The nice part was, when I woke up, my arm didn't hurt nearly as bad.

The not so nice part was that it still hurt a lot.

Groaning, I blinked my eyes open, trying to get the bleariness in them to go away. I could feel that something was encasing my broken arm and there was an IV in the other. A white ceiling stretched out above me, and there was the faint scent of rubbing alcohol in the air.

Ah. The hospital. My favorite.

The only sounds that greeted me were the dull drone of muffled voices and the squeaking of the ventilation system. My ears felt bare and vulnerable. Someone had taken my ear buds. I was already uncomfortable enough being in a place of poking and prodding with horrific sharp objects, but the lack of my music had my hands starting to tremble.

"Can I maybe get a radio?" I called as I began to sit up, careful not to put any weight on my busted arm.

"There's always the TV," a familiar voice replied.

Startled, I turned my head and felt a small skip in my heart. My face broke into a smile that I couldn't hold back if I wanted to.

"Ryu," I breathed. "You came to see me."

Even though I made that request to him about my iPod, a part of me didn't expect him to come. I thought I'd wake up in the hospital, get patched up, then head back to the hotel. Yet there he was, perched in a chair beside my bed, his feet bare and toes curling around the edge of his seat.

"Of course I did," L said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I need more pain killing juice in this tube." I gestured to the IV. "How bad was it busted? Did you see it? Tell me someone took a picture before they put it back in place."

"I got here after they set it, stitched you up, and put it in a cast," L answered, a small grin coming to his mouth. "You'll have to ask the nurses if anyone took pictures. From what I know, your ulna bone broke completely, some of it cutting out of your skin a good ways. You lost a good portion of blood—they already gave you some. Now they're just getting your fluids up and were waiting for you to wake."

"Well here I am, good morning sunshine, the Earth says hello!" I said. "Now seriously, this still hurts."

"I'll get the nurse," L said, getting to his feet. "Oh, and I charged you iPod." He pointed to where my yellow iPod sat on the bedside table, a cord attached to it. "I didn't realize it had so many features. I hope you don't mind I fiddled with it... some of the settings might be different. Sorry."

To be honest, I almost forgot that I didn't have music playing. Typically, I didn't respond well to time in silence. My body would shake, and I would be manic until I found a source of music again. I would hear things besides just Nox that other people couldn't. But just now, talking with L, I was... okay. It was only when his mentioned it did the ringing start in my ears.

"It's okay," I said. His words held weight. My heart began to pound against my ribs. L kept his eyes on me for a bit longer than what seemed normal, then he turned and exited the room.

"Congrats on surviving one of the stupidest stunts I've seen a human pull," Nox's voice said.

I turned my head to see him leaned against the wall in the back of the room. He was staring at me with his one visible eye narrowed to an icy slit.

"Are you trying to get killed?" he asked.

"Not exactly," I said with a shrug. "Gotta admit, it was fun."

"Getting your arm shattered was fun?" Nox scoffed. "I'll never understand you."

I had to see if L put something in my iPod. His actions and words suggested he at least saw my note, and given Nox's usual attitude, the Shinigami didn't notice. I reached over to where the device sat on the bedside table and unlocked the screen.

Nox would expect me to be eager to get my music back on, so this shouldn't seem odd with how intent I was. I shoved an ear bud into my right ear and hit shuffle on all my songs. A sweet instrumental piece started flowing and my body instantly relaxed.

"Ah, he somehow managed to mess up the time..." I said, giving myself more of an excuse to head to my notes. "Nox, what time is it?"

While the Shinigami looked for the clock, I saw that there was indeed a new note.

 _Would messenger be possible to talk? When I ask you if you'd like some royal milk tea, if the answer is yes, agree, but ask for whip cream. If it is no, say yes, but don't ask for no honey. Then, when you get the chance, leave me another note here. Hand me the iPod under the pretense that you think it's broken and want to have me look at it. We will figure this out._

The messenger. It was a brilliant idea. It would be tricky, but Nox hardly ever had any interest in what I did on the computer. There were so many pretenses I could come up with to explain why I'm spending so much time on it too. This... this could work.

"Ten past one," Nox said, having found a clock. "In the morning."

"Gross," I said with a scowl. "This is totally going to throw off my schedule."

There was a small knock on the door and in came L, accompanied by a nurse.

My vitals were checked again, and much to my delight I was given more pain meds in my IV drip. While the nurse was still checking me, the doctor who fixed up my arm stopped in and gave me the run down. I would be given pain medication to take home, and I would be stuck in the cast for about three months. They had to stick a rod in it to help stabilize the ulna bone, so I would be setting off metal detectors for the majority of the foreseeable future. There was chance they could take it out at some point but that really depended on how my bone did during its healing process.

All in all, busting an arm to this extent is not recommended. Don't try this at home, kids.

I was going to be able to leave in a few hours. They just had to make sure everything was stable and I wasn't going to collapse or anything weird.

The doctor and nurse left us and I let out a long breath, shaking my head.

"Thanks for taking care of the medical expenses," I said to the detective. "I know it's not like the United States with medical costs, but still, fixing up that mess wasn't cheap."

"Let's call it workman's comp," L replied. He perched on his chair again. "I hope I didn't mess up anything on your iPod."

"Just the time setting," I replied coolly. "Don't know how you managed that."

L shrugged. "The controls with that little wheel make things complicated."

I let out a laugh. "You can't imagine how long it takes to type something in with it to search for a specific song or band. You have to wheel through the alphabet one letter at a time. It's a pain."

I figured that would be enough to get the point across that I'd seen his note. L must have put some things together to leave it for me in the first place. For one: that Nox was a Shinigami and he was the one keeping me from telling L the whole truth. Not to mention, he'd kill me if I tried. L was smart-—here was no question or doubt about that. So I knew I could trust him to be as careful as he possibly could be.

"I can imagine," L said. "While we're stuck here, shall I see about getting you some royal milk tea?"

"Oh yes," I breathed, smiling. "With some whip cream this time though. I think I've earned that."

L blinked. "Whipped cream on royal milk tea... you certainly have unique taste, Nina."

It was actually a nod to one of our conversations we had on the IM back during our first case. After we had our initial discussion about royal milk tea, I asked L if he'd ever had whipped cream on his. The idea had fathomed him.

 **Masayoshi:** Whipped cream? On royal milk tea? Why would you do such a thing?

 **ButtNugget:** Because sweetness needs to be added in all paths of life! Live a little! Oh, and if you add some flavored creamer too it's soooooo good. Perfect for snowy days.

 **Masayoshi:** I'm not necessarily saying it's a bad thing. I just never thought of it. I'll have to try it.

The next day, L admitted to me that it was delicious. That should have been my first clue to how insane his sweet tooth was.

L got up and left the room once more. I looked at my arm cast with a frown.

"I need a sharpie so I can draw on this," I murmured.

"You humans are certainly interesting," Nox said.

"What?" I asked. "Might as well make the best of it and doodle obscene things all over it." I beamed.

"I guess I'm just impressed you managed to last as long as you did without passing out or just screaming in pain," Nox said.

"I've been on a similar ride before," I told him. "Adrenaline does wonders for the human body. And my pain threshold is decently high, if I do say so myself."

A wave of dizziness whirled around me. The meds the nurse gave me earlier had certainly numbed the throbbing in my arm, but along with it came a high that wasn't entirely fun. Still though, my arm not putting me in total agony was worth it.

L returned with the beverage he promised. I was surprised he found something like it this time of night. I took the warm mug in my good hand and took a mouthful of the whipped cream off the top of the delightful swirl that crowned the tea. L actually chuckled at me softly as I licked my lips.

"What?" I demanded before taking a sip.

"I suppose I'm just glad that you're not hurt worse than you are," L said.

"Tis but a flesh wound," I crowed. These meds certainly had me spinning. I felt light and giddy. The nausea was passing and giving way to a dangerous bravery.

"Nina, you have to promise me you won't do that again." L's voice grew stern as he stared me down. "You could have been killed. If you think it's best if we're on the scene somewhere, just explain it to me first. We can go together."

"Would you be my knight in shining armor, Sir Ryu?" I teased.

L sighed softly. He surely understood the effect the medication was having on me. His words were lost.

"I'd much rather be at your side than watching the TV helplessly," he said, voice soft.

"It was too dangerous for you," I told him, hoping to simply educate him how I was expendable but he was not. "We need—"

"You," L cut me off. "We need _you_ , Nina. We need Chief Yagami. We need Aizawa. Everyone on the task force is needed. Even Ukita."

I felt something tremble and collapse within myself. Ukita... I closed my eyes tightly.

"Did they get him out of there?" I breathed. "Is his body..."

"Yes," L replied gently. "He was intact. He died of a heart attack."

I closed my eyes tightly. At least the broken arm wasn't received in vain.

"While I am still frustrated with you for what you did, it was commendable," L told me. "It's things like that that make me not want to lose you. So please, for me at least, don't do something so reckless again."

Something scuttled within me. That little frog that would hop now and then when L was around. When he looked at me a certain way. When he smiled. When he said something that showed he... he cared about me.

"Ryu..." I breathed. There were so many things I wanted to say to him in that moment, but the medicine wasn't letting me sort through them and pick just one. I laid back, my head hitting the pillow heavily. It was like my world was on low frame-rate. Finally, I was able to bring some words out. "Losing Uki... it... somehow it made this so much more real. I mean, I know it was before, but people I know have died. Naomi. Ukita."

"We don't know if Naomi is dead," L pointed out.

I let out a humorless laugh. "Yes we do, Ryu."

L didn't reply. I turned my head to see he was staring at his toes, hair shadowing his eyes.

"I think seeing it—seeing Uki just... fall like that... it hit me more than Naomi because there was always that small hope," I said. "But now I know. I know she's dead, Ryu. More people are going to die before the end of this. And you... Ryu if I lose you..."

Something warm slipped from the corners of my eyes, sliding down my cheeks and sneaking into the corners of my nose. Tears... I hadn't cried in so long... not since I first met Nox.

L was looking at me now. His eyes were wide and he appeared frozen. I didn't even see a hint of him breathing.

"Perhaps they gave you too much medication," he finally suggested, voice low and careful.

"Gah..." I wiped my nose on my sleeve. "I really hate it when tears get in the crease of your nostril, you know? It's so annoying... crying in general it just... it's so messy. It's already horrible that I'm crying—why does it have to be so messy?" I laughed and sobbed at the same time. More tears came flooding out and my nose clogged up.

"Nina..." L actually put his feet on the ground to lean toward me. He placed his hand on my cast. "It's okay."

"It's not!" I exclaimed, shaking my head feverishly. "Ryu—there is so much shit—this is so... so deep... this case is the most dangerous one either of us have ever faced. Uki... Uki _died_ , Ryu. He's gone. Dead. Just like that-—just because... because someone..."

The medicine was doing something else now—morphing into something heavy. It swathed me in warmth and my tears slowed.

"Ryu..." I rasped. "When I was little, I had a home. It was with my Mom. My Dad. My brother. It was two stories and my room had a window seat. I would sit there and read and practice with my tech. Broke a few laptops. But there was... home. We moved away when I was nine and nowhere has ever felt like home since—even with all the traveling I've done and all the places I've been. Nothing was that window seat. And after my Dad died I didn't want to go back there anyway. It was tarnished with his memory."

I met his eyes as the darkness began to beckon me further and further away. He was staring at me, waiting, his brows tucked down quizzically. I was divulging so much to him and he didn't understand why.

"But I finally found it." I smiled weakly at him. "Ryu, nowhere can be my home anymore. But someone can. You. You're my... home."

And I was dreaming.

Now, as discussed before, I could lucid dream. Being on tough sleep meds for years on end did that—at least to me. Although it was still surreal that I felt more in control of myself here in my dream than awake and in my medicated body.

My surroundings were... interesting. I was on the sidewalk of a street I was familiar with—one near my childhood home house. It was on a hill, and several cars went by. My parents always scolded Austin and me to be careful near this road. There were leaves on the trees, and the sky was a overcast gray. Seemed like a storm was coming. Wind tousled my short blue hair, and I could smell rain.

"Did I just..." I was recollecting all I just said to L. All the sappy bullshit I just confessed to. "Shit, Jack, you might as well have said I love you."

Whoa. The words were out of my mouth before I understood them.

 _Love?_

Had I fallen that far? Was I that deep? I knew I cared about L. I knew I'd give my all to keep him safe. I knew that the idea of losing him—of him being killed by Kira-—t took my insides and shredded them like tissue paper. It reached in and tossed a nest of snakes coiling a bee hive into my gut... and I was allergic to bees.

I leaned on the fence I stood by, watching cars go to and fro. This level of devotion was normal for close friends though, right? Sure. But feeling that little stinking frog in my center hop so much when he was around... no friend of mine ever caused that to happen.

I thought about his lips on my hand as he kissed my knuckles while we were in public. Such warm, soft lips. I recalled him suggesting we practice kissing on the mouth instead, the day we started practicing. I remembered how him being near me, touching me, holding me, it felt second nature. Like he was an extension of myself.

"Piss it, I do love him," I rasped, the realization slamming into me just like my arm slammed into the ground earlier.

But loving L? L who was just so... detached. Had he ever been anyone in that matter? After a bit of practice, he was excellent with all the courtesies and cuddling that couples typically did. Yet the second we were alone and no one could see us, he'd distance himself and slouch down once again.

He was smart, cunning, and oddly handsome, but romantic? Could there possibly be a future there? Could he—even if he felt the same way—connect with another human on that level?

Could I?

"I hate this," I muttered, slowly sinking down to my knees.

"What's wrong, booger-bear?"

I startled and turned my head to see my brother walking toward me. Of course it was him—he was the only one who used that nickname for me. He appeared like he did the last time I saw him. Tall, lean, long blond hair tied back in a pony tail. It was wavy and untamed. Some strands hung down in his face near turquoise eyes. He looked so much like our father that it hurt.

"Austin," I sighed, not bothering to get up. "Why are you here?"

"Am I not allowed to walk around our neighborhood?" He perked a brow at me.

"We're too old to be here," I told him. "We haven't lived here since I was nine and you were eleven."

"I guess that's true." Austin came over and sat down beside me, leaning back against the fence. "If this was real, we'd be kids and Mom would be yelling at us for being so close to Cherry Street."

"It is busy," I noted as more cars drove by.

Austin elbowed me. "So are you going to tell me why you look like you're going to throw up?"

"Boys, big brother. Boys," I replied.

"Do you need me to play the older brother role and beat someone's face in?" Austin grinned, making a dimple appear in his right cheek.

"Please don't," I said with a small chuckle.

"There's a smile." Austin pinched my cheek lightly. "Take some advice from the brother you hold in your subconscious. Love is one of the most painful things in life. But it's also the most beautiful. It's possible to make that beauty outweigh the pain. You just have to know what it is you want. What you deserve. What you need and who needs you."

"That's sappy as hell," I replied blatantly. "Now I _know_ you're not Austin."

"He could get deep on some occasions. I think his little booger-bear finding love for the first time is important enough to warrant it." The Dream Austin continued to smile. "Maybe he could help you with this. All of this. The case. L. All of it. You don't have to carry this alone."

"I do," I said. "I just risked everything telling L. And I didn't even tell him all of it! I distanced myself from Austin because this Death Note... Shinigami... he can't be involved in this. I won't endanger anyone else."

"And you don't think he doesn't do dangerous things? Doing what he does?" Dream Austin asked.

I lowered my head, bringing my knees to my chest. "Nothing is as dangerous as this. We are literally dealing with death itself."

"You're already in this with other people," Dream Austin said. "Including L."

"L and the others wanted to get in on this," I retorted. "They decided on their own to step forward knowing how risky it was. Pretty sure L is actually having a blast with all of it."

"And you don't think Austin—if he knew how dire this situation was—would help?" Dream Austin tilted his head.

"Of course he would," I sighed, exasperated. "And that's the problem. He's good at what he does... but he's not as good as me." My eyes gleamed as I turned to face the dream counterpart of my brother. "He never was. And that drove him insane. Him knowing I'm working side by side with L? Him here in person—forced to watch as L and I take the reins of the case and drive us on?"

"So you're worried about a spat?" Dream Austin snorted. "That's... surprisingly childish of you."

"Austin is all I have left in my family," I spat. "Him joining this cause will cause him to die or just resent me even more than he already does. Either way, I lose him."

"Perhaps you should either rethink your ego, or check with him to see if what you think he thinks... is actual fact." Dream Austin grinned again. "The path ahead isn't going to be easy. You know that. Especially now that you've developed these feelings for your detective partner."

"I just don't get it," I breathed. "Why now? Why L? Of all the times to finally feel that ticker in my chest stammer all over the place like in the romance novels—why did it have to be with someone possibly even more socially detached than me, and during the biggest serial killer case of all known history?" I banged my head against my knees with a loud groan. "It's not fair!"

"Life rarely is," Dream Austin pointed out.

"Don't get all philosophical on me," I warned. "I'm in no mood. Just let me sit here and mope for a while. I can't even begin to think of what I'm going to do next."

"Get on that IM, I'd imagine," Dream Austin said.

I nodded. "I suppose so. And here starts a game of life and death that's even more close and threatening than Kira."

I leaned my head against Dream Austin's shoulder now. Fake brother or not, his presence was calming. A lot of me regretted cutting Austin off like I did. But when I avenged our father's death and put Victor Skor behind bars, I hadn't had many plans after that anyway. It would be better for Austin to just keep working with his agency. It would be better if he never tried to throw his weight against Kira.

Tears rolled down my cheeks as Dream Austin wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Austin loves you, you know," he whispered. "You're his sister, no matter what blood says."

"I know," I said, closing my eyes.

* * *

 _Light_

With a small smile on his lips, Light observed the TV in his room, a hand on his chin.

"It is highly unfortunate that the police have said 'no' to my offer." The voice coming out was garbled with some cheap voice distorter. The quality of the video was horrific to say the least. A hand held camera aimed at the name KIRA in all caps in clearly hand drawn letters. It's font mimicked the same font L used for his insignia. "However I expect news reports to continue featuring criminals as before, or I will be forced to pass judgment on the people in the police and media."

Ryuk was snickering. Light's smile wouldn't fall away. This... this was perfect. This was a gift from a god. A god of death.

"But," the voice went on, "since the police decided to oppose me, that alone will not do. As a penalty, I will take the life of the Director-General of the NPA, which has formed a task force to find and capture me... or of the alleged mastermind leading this task force known only as L. The Director-General or L? Which will it be? You have four days to decide who will be sacrificed for the loss of a peaceful and just world.

"I know the face of the Director-General, and can kill him with ease. But if L is chosen, he is to appear on Sakura TV in four days on the six PM news and speak for a 10 minute period. I will be the judge of if the person shown is L. If I determine the person is not L, I will take the lives of several police chiefs worldwide as compensation. Lying to me will cost you dearly.

"I say this yet again. I do not want to take the lives of innocent people. You have four days to think it over. And think it well."

With that, the broadcast ended. Light turned off the TV, not interested in hearing what the reporters of Sakura TV had to say about it. He'd heard all he needed to.

"It seems another Shinigami has come to the human world," Light said. "And whoever has their Death Note is a fan of mine."

"Seems that way," Ryuk said with a chuckle. "Who would have thought..."

"And I'm the only one who knows this Kira is a fake," Light went on. "The question is... is he a friend or foe? Either way... the real question is if I can use him to my advantage. The death of those two cops who arrived on scene later guarantees he has the Shinigami Eyes, which makes him far more powerful than me."

He got to his feet. Sunlight was streaming in through the curtains. It was the morning after the initial tapes had been aired on Sakura TV. Light had been glued to the station all night. His eyes burned each time he blinked; his body's way of telling him to get some sleep. But his mind was racing far too fast right now.

"If I play my cards right, I can prove that I'm not Kira and get rid of L in the same move," Light murmured. "But then there's also Jack to consider. It's clear that this fake Kira doesn't know she's part of the task force—and possibly just as dangerous..."

He wasn't a fool like the reporters on Sakura. When the "young man" showed up and hovered over that officer's body, he knew it was her. Same height and he recognized the hoodie she was wearing. But she was clever enough to cover the lower half of her face. Given the state of her shirt, she had to act quickly to make a mask. It could be L didn't appreciate her running off... which only increased the likelihood of Light's theory that they had a deep connection. L didn't want Jack putting herself in danger.

"This Kira is only asking for L to show his face," Light sighed. "Which will leave Jack as a problem... But even if I make contact with this fake Kira and tell him about Jack, they'll know it had to be me that informed him... I'm the only one outside the task force that knows Jack's a variable." He shook his head. "Regardless, I need to contact this fake Kira before he's caught and I need to do it without him knowing what I look like or who I am."

"That paranoid, huh?" Ryuk asked.

"It's entirely possible this fake Kira wants to take my place," Light pointed out. "I can't have that. But at the same time, he could prove invaluable. So... I know I have to find him first... but there's also one more piece. I need to figure out how to make it public knowledge that Jack is a part of the task force. And I need to do it without them realizing it was me." He furrowed his brows and sat on his bed. "Well... this certainly is an interesting new challenge." He grinned again. "But it's not one I'll lose."

* * *

 _Jack_

"You've got to be shitting me."

I had been released from the hospital and sent on my way with L a few hours after I woke from my pass out. It had been slightly awkward, to say the least, when I first came to and remembered my cheesy declaration of L being my home. But luckily enough, it seemed he didn't want to mention it either.

"I'm glad you're awake," was all he said. "I've been getting dreadfully bored."

When we got back to the hotel room, the first thing we did was look over all the tapes. While the real ones were sent to forensics, we had the copies Sakura TV made. The second tape was making demands of the police to cooperate with Kira. If the answer was yes, it stated to play video 3. If it was no, play video 4.

Video 3 explained all the conditions and criteria that was to be met with the police accepting Kira's offer. It included the necessity of criminals being shown of TV, especially if the crimes involved injuries or cruelty to the weak, however minor. Kira would be the one to judge them—and as proof that the police fully agree to support him, the NPA officials and L were to appear on TV to make the announcement.

"Ha, yeah, fat chance," I told L. "He's just going to kill the task force."

L didn't argue that point.

But then came video 4. The one we ended up giving Sakura TV to air. I had to watch that shit twice and each time it made me want to throw the TV across the room. But now, with Chief Yagami returning from a meeting with the world leaders and giving us the news of what they decided, I was beyond furious. This was a new level for me—something of both fire and ice.

"After doing absolutely nothing to help with this investigation, they're condemning him to die?" I shouted. "L has saved their skin so many times, and not just with this case! What the fuck!"

"Nina, please, you're a lady, don't use such vulgar language," L replied calmly. He took a sip of his coffee. "We both knew this was the choice they'd make."

True enough. We never said anything out loud, but the moment Yagami left to speak with them we'd exchanged a look that said it all.

"Vulgarity is allowed even for women, thank you very much," I retorted. "Especially with this news. I'm going to hack into their next meeting and put Meat Spin on that big screen of theirs. I'll fine the 10-hour version of it too. And they won't be able to get it off until it's done."

"Meat Spin?" Matsuda asked uncertainly.

"You really don't want to know," L said. "In any case, their decision is both right and reasonable."

"How can you say that?!" I demanded.

L gently set his cup on the table. "It's simply unacceptable for the police to work with Kira," he said. "And if it's between me and the Directer-General of the NPA, of course it should be me. I'm the one who challenged Kira and said I'd capture him. It's the right decision."

"But you'll be killed," Aizawa breathed.

L didn't seem to hear him. "What bothers me is that even if I appear on TV, and I intend to, if he knows nothing about me, then even if it is the real me out there... how do I get him to believe I'm L?"

I rubbed my eyes with my good hand. L and I had been so busy with the tapes and everything we hadn't had a chance to get on our respective laptops and use the IM to talk. I still hadn't managed to tell him anything beyond the fact that Shinigami exist—and even then, I wasn't sure if he believed me. Certainly, he knew something was up and I had to be in danger, but that didn't mean he was convinced the gods of death weren't myth.

"If I fail in this, police chiefs around the world will die," L said as he cut his fork into a slice of cake before him. "I'll have to think of something to convince him. I wonder how he thinks he'll deduce if I'm really L." He took a bite of the cake, frosting dotting his lips. "I don't want to die either," he said through his mouthful. "Being killed by Kira is one thing, but being killed by the opportunist pretending to be Kira would really grate."

The rest of the officers let out verbal exclamations of shock. I folded my arms nodding. It was something L and I discussed while watching the videos—something I had a feeling about the moment Ukita died.

"What in the world makes you think that?" Aizawa managed to choke out.

"The postage marks the tapes were sent April 13th," L said. "Sakura TV received it the next day. Three days after this, the murders predicted on the first one took place. The first tape was never aired, it was designed to convince the staff of Sakura TV that Kira was the sender. They are the only ones who saw it."

"But I don't get it," Matsuda said. "Deaths being predicted three days in advance actually happening? I'd say that's pretty convincing."

"We were convinced it was Kira," L assured him.

"Then what changed?" Yagami leaned forward in his seat, brow furrowed.

"Ryu and I watched the video, and that was what made us start thinking about the possibility of this Kira being a fake," I explained. "The ones that were killed were 'criminals' but I'm going to use the term loosely, considering who Kira typically targets. And it wasn't just their minor crimes that were strange... TV celebrities caught with drugs seems more fit for a shitty woman's magazine to gripe about."

"I actually checked," L put in, cutting another piece of cake for himself. There was frosting on the corner of his mouth. "As of April 13th, the only television coverage it had received was on daytime tabloid shows. Doesn't that strike you as strange? Sakura TV air tabloid show stories all the time, so it probably didn't seem suspicious to them. But I'd say these victims are clearly unlike the rest."

"And it's not just the ones he killed in that first tape. This time around, Kira decided to kill reporters," I said. "Sure, they spoke out against him at times on TV, but that's hardly damnable is it? They never killed anyone, raped, maimed, stole, nothing. They were, for the most part, innocent. Now we know that Kira's killed innocents before—what with the FBI agent—but that was because he believe they were hot on his tail. Him killing news casters suddenly like this... it seemed terribly out of character for him."

"The real Kira has absolutely no need to prove himself with such small fry," L said. "He wouldn't even think of it. It would be much more his style to hold off killing one or two of his usual hard-core victims until the appointed time. That would be convincing. But if a Second Kira wanted to make people think he was the real Kira, he couldn't use a criminal that the real Kira might actually eliminate before the Sakura people saw his video."

"If he gave advance notice to a serious criminal's death, the real Kira might get him first," I continued, tapping my foot lightly to the beat of the song that pumped into my right ear. "That would screw up the time and date he predicted and then even Sakura TV wouldn't believe him."

"Well, maybe he deliberately used victims TV people would know," Matsuda suggested. "Ugh, I guess that's pushing it." He placed a hand on his chin.

"Yeah, but we surely can't just say there's a Second Kira just from that," Aizawa pointed out.

"Ryuzaki... Nina..." Yagami looked between us. "What's the probability of there being a Second Kira?"

L and I exchanged a look.

"Sixty-nine?" I wriggled my eyebrows at him.

L did not look amused. He took another bite of cake. "This time, I'd say seventy percent."

"Mine's still funnier." My grin was ear-reaching.

Regardless of our banter, the officers were clearly surprised by the number L dropped. All of them were wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

L put his fork down and his expression turned into a glower. He looked somewhere between disgusted and annoyed.

"I don't like his style," he muttered. "It's not like Kira at all..."

"What do you mean?" Aizawa probed.

"Well..." I said, folding hands behind my head and leaning back in my seat. "To put it lightly, this move was sloppy. Think about how Kira has acted up to this point: only taking the most horrific criminals, using some to send messages to L. In a sense, there was a level of elegance to all of it—a sense of..." I shrugged and cast a grin toward L. "Moriarty."

"Moriarty?" Yagami echoed.

"Sherlock Holmes, a series of tales written by Britain's Sir Arthur Conan Doyle," L explained. "Moriarty was his arch nemesis, so to speak. The only villain that posed a legitimate challenge to Holmes' intellect."

"Moriarty was also arrogant," I said. "He tended to do things in such a way that Sherlock was always able to tell it could only be him, because only he was that clever—aside from Sherlock himself of course. My point is, think about the quality of that video. The voice distorter. Not very fancy, right? And they relied on a station like Sakura TV to broadcast their tapes. Once again, we find that this is out of character for the Kira we've been facing so far."

"It was clearly recorded on a home camera and that was the microphone they used as well," L went on. "It's easy to tell that when outside sound got on the tape, it was rewound and redone."

"Even people with the basic know-how of computers and editing know that with a video like this, it's best to record the audio separate and splice it with the video. That way you can use a decent mic and there's no need to do so many cuts," I said.

L shook his head, eyes lidded with irritation. "It's all just so amateurish."

I sat forward again, folding my hands together. "And then there's the whole shtick using a news network to broadcast these tapes and use police chiefs as bargaining chips..."

L nodded. "It was obvious that doing things like that would arouse public hostility against him. Plus, as Nina pointed out, so far, aside from people who were after him, Kira avoided attacking innocent people. And yet those TV announcers that were killed were innocent victims... If I were Kira, I'd be furious."

The detective took up his cup of coffee again and took a long drink from it. He truly was annoyed. I could read it in his body language—the stiffness of his shoulders, the glint in his eyes. His toes had been curled tightly around the edge of the couch cushion ever since he started talking about how this likely fake Kira differed from the real one.

"Kira's method thus far has been to make his views gradually penetrate and change society," L said as he set the cup back down. "His aim is not a dictatorship based on fear."

Aizawa pulled up a small packet with a scrap of envelope in it. "So maybe these fingerprints are actually..." he began, eyes widening.

"Fingerprints?" Yagami prompted.

"The lab found fingerprints on the postage stamps that didn't belong to Sakura staff," Aizawa said.

"We thought there was no way Kira would leave prints," Matsuda added.

"So we though he made someone else handle his stuff." Aizawa looked up and around at all of us. "But maybe..."

"Hmm." L reached over and took the small zip-lock bag. "I'd say it's possible the fingerprints belong to the Second Kira. It would be wiser to leave no fingerprints at all, but... if there is a Second Kira out there, he's far less intelligent and methodical than the real one. It could be he didn't think about the videos and packaging being seized by the police."

"Rookie mistake," I sighed, shaking my head.

L held the bag up, examining the fingerprints. "We could restrict our search to Japan, but even if we did that, it's no small task getting the prints of everyone in the country." He frowned. "We'll have to catch him first then compare. It's odd though..."

"What?" Matsuda asked.

"These fingerprints are so small," L murmured. "Nina, look, will you?"

I leaned over and peered at the fingerprints that were visible on the envelope's paper. I closed one eye and held up my thumb to compare. "Huh. Yeah. They're a touch smaller than mine even. Kid maybe?"

"Or a woman even smaller than you," L said.

"It tallies with what my son told you two at the hospital," Yagami pointed out. "About Kira being an affluent child."

L's eye snapped over to meet the Chief's. Their dark depths gleamed. He set the baggy down again. "Whether it is Kira or the Second Kira, perhaps your son is right," he said. "In any case. Nina and I discussed it further on the assumption that there is a Second Kira. And even if they don't kill the same way, if we capture one it could help us find the other."

It was true we talked about this, but I had to watch my tongue the entire time. We had yet to get on messenger and we'd barely had time to breathe since coming back from the hospital. Others of the task force were around or we were too absorbed in reviewing the tapes. L and I both knew that if we put anything for the case that seemed like an immediate need off, Nox would get suspicious. So naturally, I couldn't talk to L about the fact that this Second Kira had Shinigami Eyes. Or how there were now three Death Notes in our world, two of which were in the hands of psychopaths.

I thought again of how I too had the option to have Shinigami Eyes. It would give me the ability to pick out both Kira and the Second Kira out of a crowd with ease. I could help end this bloodbath once and for all, given a little self sacrifice.

But Nox had always been right... this wasn't just about my soul. It wasn't just about the potential of being damned to purgatory. Taking the Eyes, using the Death Note in any way... it felt like cheating. It _was_ cheating. I already had extra knowledge on this case—I knew the cause. Using the notebook was so quick and simple... and then what? Back to more dull and drab cases of theft and small-time murder? Of missing people and things? Petty complaints of the wealthy?

What if L didn't want to spend time with me after this case after all? What if this was it, and once it was over I'd no longer be able to spend time with him?

There were so many things to consider. So. Many.

That never-ending siren's call of a challenge was something I could never refuse and I wasn't about to give myself any more advantages than I already had. Perhaps it made me a terrible person—as bad a Kira—for allowing him to thrive in this world when I potentially had the key to stopping him in an instant. But I was selfish. I was a fool.

"It is our estimation that the real Kira is the smarter of the two," L went on, snapping me out of my inner turmoil. "And if I were him... I would try to find the Second Kira before the police do. I would gauge whether he sympathized with me, and if he did, I would make full use of him. Then ultimately, before the police closed in, I'd eliminate him."

"Basically, the race is on," I said. "Who can catch Second Kira first? Us or the real Kira? Regardless..." A wide smile stretched my lips. "It gives us an opportunity to catch Kira."

"So... both of you really feel this way?" Yagami asked. "That there is a Second Kira?"

"It's like we've been saying," I said, my arms going back up to cross behind my head as I stretched out, "this Kira imposter did everything completely out of character from the one we've been chasing. I think the thing that cinches it for me is using Sakura TV of all the news stations... I mean why rely on them to present something so lackluster?"

"Lackluster?" Aizawa exclaimed. "Ukita is dead. So are two other officers and several news casters. We're calling that lackluster?"

His words hit like a physical blow. I lowered my arms and cradled my head in my hands, elbows propped on my knees. "I'm not saying it like that. Please don't try and twist up my words." I glanced up at him, my voice soft. "We all feel Uki's death, Aizawa. We're all pissed."

Aizawa adverted from my gaze. "Sorry. I... didn't mean to snap. I just... this is a lot to take in. Wasn't one Kira enough?"

"I know," I said, raising my head again and letting out a heavy exhale.

Aizawa had been a bit more polite to me since Ukita died. When he first arrived today, he'd shot me a wary look and said, "Look. What you did for Ukita... just... you risked a lot. I know he would have appreciated it."

I think it was safe to say the relationship between Aizawa and me was on the mend. About time. I was getting sick of his piss poor attitude.

"Chief Yagami," L said, gracefully changing the subject. "Would it be all right with you if I ask your son to work with us when he has the time?"

Yagami's brows shot up. "Can I take that to mean he's been cleared 100 percent of suspicion?"

"Sorry, not exactly," I said. "Regardless if Light is Kira or not, he has pretty damn good reasoning abilities. We think he'd be a good asset in helping us catch the Second Kira."

Yagami bowed his head. "Well if my son says yes, I have no reason to stop him."

"We don't mind either," Matsuda put in.

"I'm pretty sure your son's sense of justice will lead him to agree," L said. "However... please keep it a secret from him that this Kira might be a fake. I want him to think he'd helping us track the same Kira we've been hunting all along."

"But..." Matsuda frowned. "Wouldn't that make it difficult for him to help us?"

"Yeah, why even ask for his help?" Aizawa agreed.

"We'll only keep it from him until he's watched the first video and given us his opinion," I explained. "After watching it, there's a chance he'll come to the same conclusion as us- that there's a Second Kira. We want to see his reaction to seeing all of our evidence and the tape."

"But this 'Second Kira' theory you two have is just because you think the victims were types of criminals that Kira hasn't touched, right?" Matsuda tilted his head.

"It's more than that," L said. He picked up the tape in question and placed it on the table. "Before now, Kira has needed a name and a face to kill. But when cops showed up at Sakura TV, they just died instantly. And this Kira seemed fairly certain he could kill me just from me showing my face on TV."

Him just saying those words shot ice into my spine. I bit my tongue, trying not to stiffen up too much. L still cast me a small glance before continuing.

"Given this, we can only conclude that this Kira can kill with a face alone," the detective said. "This is different from the Kira we've been chasing."

"What if our information was wrong, or Kira's powers changed?" Aizawa asked.

"Then what's stopping him from taking out major criminals whose names he hasn't been able to find out?" I countered.

Aizawa sighed heavily, hanging his head.

"After getting updated on our investigation and seeing the tape, if Light deduces that there could be a Second Kira..." L said as he poured himself yet another cup of coffee. "The suspicion Nina and I hold against him will be mostly cleared."

"What do you mean, Ryuzaki?" Yagami demanded, eyes wide with both hope and dread.

"Kira would want L dead no matter what," L explained. "That's obvious from the Lind L. Tailor incident. If I go before a TV and die in three days, then the number of possible suspects will spread throughout the world. I don't see why Kira would want to spoil such a perfect opportunity."

"Either way, it may not change the fact that you die," Aizawa pointed out. "Why would merely suggesting a Second Kira clear him of suspicion?"

"Stop." The word was out of my mouth so fast, I didn't register it was spoke aloud and not just a mere thought. Everyone looked to me.

"What's wrong, Nina?" Matsuda asked.

"You guys all talking like Ryu is going to die," I spat, tension building in my body. I was sitting bolt upright, my hands gripping my knees. "Even you're talking like it!" I shot L a venomous glare. "There's no way that's going to happen, we simply can't let it."

"We're going to do everything we can to avoid it, of course, Nina," Yagami said, his voice low and calm. He was trying to soothe me. "I'm sure everyone, even Ryuzaki, is just speaking hypothetically right now."

Something was roaring within me. A storm of some kind, but it wasn't one birthed from clouds, nor did it breathe with lightning and thunder. No, this was fire. Flames that spat and crackled and hissed. They coiled my core, making my hands shake.

"Even if it is, you all talk about it so lightly," I whispered. My eyes shot up, glaring at each of the officers in turn. "He's just a tool to you, someone to fix your problems. Would you even care about him if he wasn't heading this case? Would you care if he died if he was just some passerby?"

"Nina!" Matsuda cried. "Of course we would! Anyone here can see that Ryuzaki is a phenomenal human being—not just because of how smart he is, but for him constantly putting himself out there to save lives and solve crimes. He helps people all the time! Anyone would be devastated to see him die."

"Not the world leaders," I barked. "Not the rest of the whole stupid world when they saw that tape."

"We're just as upset as you are about that," Yagami insisted. "Nina, please, you must see that we're a team. A unit."

"Then stop talking about Ryu's life like it's just some variable in a math problem!" I shouted.

"Nina."

L's voice seemed to douse the flames a bit. I turned to see his hand was on my shoulder, and his dark gaze was fixated on me.

"Now is not the time for letting our feelings take control," he murmured softly. "I know that my life isn't something to just be thrown away. I already said I didn't want to die, remember? I do appreciate the sentiment, but let's just figure out what our next move is for now."

I knew what our next move had to be. I'd known it the moment that tape demanded L show himself on TV. However, I couldn't propose it to him until after we talked on messenger—until after I explained everything. Perhaps if I just kept that in mind, I could get through this. Letting out a long exhale I slumped back in my seat and closed my eyes.

"Sorry, guys, I didn't sleep save when I was drugged up on pain meds," I murmured. "I swear I'm still the happy-go-lucky twerp you've come to know, I just... after Uki..."

"I get it," Aizawa said. "And don't worry. We'll find a way to make sure Ryuzaki doesn't get killed."

I opened my eyes to see him smiling lightly at me. The expression alone made me smile back. Aizawa was actually being kind to me. Not just civil or polite, downright nice. It was enough to simmer the fire inside me to mere burning coals.

"Well, well, well," Nox said from the corner of the room. "So you really have fallen for your little detective friend."

I cast a look toward the Shinigami. He was grinning that ear-to-ear grin at me, the one that showcased his shark teeth. He'd been very quiet for the past few hours. He did show some interest when L and I initially discussed a Second Kira.

"Now wouldn't that just be a blast," he'd said with a laugh. "Three Death Notes—three Shinigami... how oh how has the Shinigami King not thrown a fit by now?"

His reaction told me that if there was a third god of death in the human world, he wasn't aware of it. But it was certainly possible.

"Careful, Jack," Nox warned me now, leering at me from across the room. "Emotions are a tricky thing. Keep this up and you might just use that notebook I gave you..."

I had no other choice but to ignore him. I refocused on the rest of the group and said, "Right so... back to the task at hand..."

L still had his hand on my shoulder. It was warm and comforting. He stared at me for a moment longer, his eyes gauging if I was truly over my outburst before he gently removed his grip on me.

There was something different in his expression as he looked away. Something I don't think I'd ever seen before. It was akin to conflict, but at the same time... was there color rising in his cheeks? His complexion was typically so ashen, I couldn't help but notice. A blush? Lord knew I was blushing—embarrassment was quite high on my emotional spectrum at the moment after my little episode—but for _L_ to be embarrassed...

I looked away, turning my attention back to the officers. It had to have been a trick of the light. Or I was so stressed at the moment my eyes were playing tricks on me. They tended to do that. Either way, despite the rather sloppy execution, I meant what I said. L's life wasn't something to be tossed aside or spoken about so lightly. We had to come up with a way to ensure this Second Kira didn't get his way. And once I finally talked to L on our IM, I was certain he'd see the necessity in my plan.

Because if we couldn't figure out a way to get out of showing L on live TV, it couldn't be him that stepped in front of those cameras.

It had to be me.


	20. Romantic Tension

_L_

The sensation slinking through L's mind was one he never encountered before.

Many times in his life he'd been praised for his intellect, thanked for his time and service, even gotten the stray compliment on his hair during his scarce time out in public. When Watari told him he'd done well, L had felt a sense of pride, he couldn't deny that. But this wasn't pride. This wasn't anything that L could put into words or make any sense of.

When Jack stood up so ferociously for his life, the first thing L had been was taken aback. Her outburst was so sudden and powerful. He'd never seen such a manic look in her eyes. Such ferocity. She even challenged the other members of the task force, claimed they didn't see him as a friend or anything more than a tool. It implied that she saw him as something more than just a coworker. A partner in this wild case they'd taken on.

L hadn't exactly had his life in immediate danger before- at least not that was foretold three days in advance. No one had ever gotten the chance to react to such a situation. But L had the feeling even if they did, no one would have reacted as strongly as Jack had just then. No one would have had such passion and fire in their eyes.

And now here L sat, bewildered and... pleased.

That was it—not entirely, but definitely a large part of it. L was pleased Jack was so adamant about him staying alive. He was pleased she wanted him around. Pleased she cared enough to do something that clearly embarrassed her, for now she sat low in the couch, her cheeks and ears flared to red.

Had it been Matsuda or Chief Yagami, L didn't think he'd feel the same. They'd expressed they sided with Jack on this one after all, and L knew they appreciated him. They were some of the best officers he'd worked with. But them professing the things Jack did would not have had the same punch.

Distractions, distractions... This was the biggest case of his life- the most dangerous one to boot. Even now, his life was being asked for by nearly all the general public. And it was now, of all times, that he finds himself... yearning for someone. This... this was not something he could afford. He needed all of his thinking power to be focused on Kira. Outsmarting him. Making certain he was captured and judged for what he'd done.

Yet here he was noticing the contours of Jack's lips. The curve of her hips. The golden ring that hugged her leaf-green irises. He wanted to hear her laugh. He wanted to see her smile. But at the same time, he was enraptured by the way her face hardened with concentration when she was working something out in that marvelous mind of hers. One that would have been welcome at Wammy House. She was almost on par with him when it came to deducting skills.

Everything about her, from her wild hair and petite stature to her ludicrous intelligence had L encased with emotions he'd never experienced. Feelings he knew had a name, but refused to think it. He didn't have time for this; thousands of lives, including his own, weighed on him solving this case.

"If there is a Second Kira, we have ways of stopping him," L said, forcing himself to tear his eyes from Jack and focus on the conversation they were having before her outburst. "At the very least, the Second Kira agrees with Kira's actions. I'm thinking he would follow orders from the real Kira." He reached down and grabbed his cup of coffee. "That means there's a high chance we can stop him from creating a fake message from the real Kira."

As he sipped his tea, Jack nodded. She seemed to be falling back into her usual self with surprising ease. Though she did keep sneaking glances across the room. L had a feeling she saw Nox standing there, and he knew she always looked at him when she was trying to watch what she was saying. Clearly, she didn't want to reveal too much in fear of a dire consequence.

"If Light is Kira, I doubt he'd mention a Second Kira until he knows for certain Ryu will die," she said. It was clear the words bugged her. She kept her eyes downcast and she gripped the edges of the couch cushions so tightly her knuckles went white.

"This is a little confusing for me," Matsuda admitted, scratching his head.

"So you're saying your suspicion of my son will grow if he doesn't mention a Second Kira?" Yagami demanded.

"Yeah, that seems kind of harsh," Aizawa pointed out.

"No, in that case, our suspicion of him will remain at five percent," L assured. "I'll just explain that we are investigating the possibility of there being a Second Kira and have him assist us."

He took a drink of his coffee and set the cup back on the table. Jack's grip on the couch had relaxed and she was looking toward the corner of the room again. L wondered what Nox was saying to her- if he was saying anything. Shinigami... that was a factor he had to take into account. But he would have to get the details from Jack first. They had to speak on their IM, and before Light came.

"Just in case, I want all of you to use your fake names, even here," L went on, focusing on the officers again. "And Watari will not be coming here anymore. He will always be on the outside, as another L who only I know." Jack elbowed him. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and felt a smile of amusement catch his lips. "That Nina and I know."

"He makes better royal milk tea than you and me combined," Jack said, folding her arms and sighing. "I already miss him."

"We're going that far?" Aizawa asked, his brows lowering.

Jack nodded. "I know you guys don't want to believe Light is Kira. But on the off chance he is, we can't be too careful- not to sound like a walking cliche..."

"Well then, if Light is okay with it, please have him come here in an hour if possible," L said. "Nina and I have to discuss a few things in private."

The officers exchanged looks with brows raised, but at the same time they didn't seem particularly surprised.

"Of course." Matsuda's smile was wider than usual, teeth showing. "We'll stay here."

"My room should work," Jack said. "Get your laptop, Ryu."

L gave her a small nod and gathered it up. They then left the three officers in the living room as they stepped into Jack's bedroom, closing the door behind them.

"So, you're sure you can create this server?" L asked as Jack jumped onto her bed and scooted up to one side.

"You doubt me, the great Jack?" She grabbed her own laptop from the bedside table and opened it up. "Of course I can. And there, we can store all the things we need for case notes. Watari will be able to access them. It will take some time to get it going, though... you sure we shouldn't tell the officers?"

"Yes," L said. "If Light is Kira... we can't risk there being any way that he might know about it."

Jack shrugged and began to type away on her laptop. "Go ahead and compile some notes to upload. I'll help you completely erase them once you're done." She looked up and patted the spot next to her. "Believe it not, I don't bite."

L preferred to sit in a chair, knees up in his usual posture, and work with his laptop on a desk or table in front of him. But he understood what Jack was doing. With the wall directly behind them, it wouldn't be easy for anyone to see their screens. So, he climbed onto the bed and propped up a pillow against the headrest to lean back against. He opened his laptop as he stretched out his legs before him. His arm was almost touching Jack's. He could feel the heat of her skin.

"Sorry coding is boring," Jack said. "At least for anyone watching. A lot like tennis."

L let out a small grunt of amusement. "You said you enjoyed the match."

"And I did," Jack agreed. "But all the same, you can't exactly add flare to coding. I suppose I could try to change the font color."

As her fingers flew across the keyboard, her eyes flicked momentarily toward her bathroom. That must be where Nox was right now. L began to open up the old application that was Jack's IM program. At first, all it did was give him an error message that said the server was no longer in service. It wasn't possible to read old messages or even see Jack's old online ID.

L opened a blank word document and began to type what appeared to be his notes and thoughts on the Kira case so far. He would tab between the two windows in order to keep his fingers continuously typing so it didn't seem suspicious when he only typed when Jack wasn't. Just as he did this, she hit her enter key with slight severity.

Tabbing back to the IM, L saw the server was back. But no record of their previous conversation was there. She'd made an all new one and attached it to her IM program. There was one message from the user name: CyberPsycho.

 **CyberPsycho:** You have to read the messages fast. This is set to delete each one within ten seconds after sending. If you have questions, keep them short. But only ask one if you deem it absolutely necessary and let me do the talking.

To her word, almost as soon as L finished reading the message, it was gone. He typed in his reply.

 **Ryuzaki:** I understand.

And so their conversation started. Jack would regularly peek up and at different points in the room. L could see she was tabbing between screens as well, the messenger and something that had several characters and numbers going across the screen. It was coding, but L could tell it was a video on repeat. But Nox surely wouldn't know that.

 **CyberPsycho:** The reason I haven't been able to tell you anything outright is because Nox is a Shinigami. I'm sure you figured that out.

 **Ryuzaki:** I have, yes.

 **CyberPsycho:** He said he would kill me if I told you about this. That you had to find out on your own. But I say balls to that, we need to catch Kira.

 **Ryuzaki:** Please explain as best you can, but be careful.

 **CyberPsycho:** Why do you think I have these messages set to delete themselves? Plus tabbing helps. Anyway, this all started after my case with Century Lock. I bet you got that figured out too.

 **Ryuzaki:** You left good clues.

 **CyberPsycho:** Bitchin'. Yeah, so there is something all Shinigami carry—it's called a Death Note.

 **Ryuzaki:** A Death Note?

 **CyberPsycho:** It's a notebook, and if you write the name of someone down on its pages while picturing their face, that person will die.

L's blood was splintered with ice in that moment. His fingers paused in their constant dance across his keyboard. It sounded impossible; it was the stuff of myth and legend, but the way Kira killed people was impossible. This—as insane as it was—had to be the answer.

 **CyberPsycho:** The default kill method is a heart attack. But if you specify how the victim dies, that can be changed, as well as their actions before their death, as long as they're in the realm of possibility.

 **CyberPsycho:** There are a lot of rules for this thing, and we can't get too into it right now, there isn't time. I'm just going to focus on telling you what you need to know.

 **CyberPsycho:** Nox originally gave a Death Note to Victor Skor. The dickbag used it to kill five of his employees when they went to expose him—including my dad.

 **CyberPsycho:** But I caught his ass and got him arrested. I knew something wasn't right with my dad's death. After that, Victor lost his notebook and Nox came to me, impressed by how I exposed Victor.

 **CyberPsycho:** He gave it to me and explained how it worked and how any who use it lose the right to go to heaven or hell. When they die, they're basically stuck in purgatory.

 **CyberPsycho:** I asked him if this was the only Death Note and he told me no, he still had one on him and apparently there were multiple Shinigami, all equipped with one.

 **CyberPsycho:** So then I knew what I had to do. I had to make sure no one used one of these like Victor had ever again. I wouldn't let innocent people die. And knowing what a Death Note was, I felt confident I could catch anyone else who had one.

 **CyberPsycho:** Only problem was if I ditched my notebook or destroyed it, all my memories of the Death Note would vanish. Honestly, not sure how that would work for you if I lose the thing now.

 **CyberPsycho:** Nox has given the very strong impression he could kill me whenever he wants. Shinigami can see the true name and lifespan of anyone they look into the face of.

 **CyberPsycho:** Of course, more than half the face has to be showing. Like 65% or something like that, he said. So yeah, he could kill me, or anyone really, whenever he wants.

 **CyberPsycho:** But he has some goal of figuring out why Shinigami exist, so he's letting me keep going because I'm the first person to keep the notebook but not use it. He finds this as a new variable he hasn't tested yet.

 **CyberPsycho:** Only issue is, he will kill me if I tell anyone about the Death Note, like I said earlier. So that's why we have to be careful.

 **CyberPsycho:** Always assume he's watching and listening for now, but give me a little time and I'll make it to where you can see and hear him too. It just takes you touching my notebook—or a piece of paper from it.

 **CyberPsycho:** Make certain when you do see and hear him that you don't let him know. No direct eye contact, no comments or reactions to what he says.

 **CyberPsycho:** Now the next bit. There is something Shinigami can grant someone holding a Death Note, provided they trade half their remaining lifespan. Shinigami eyes—it lets them see names and lifespan of those they can see the faces of.

 **CyberPsycho:** Given the personality we've observed in the real Kira so far, I doubt he's made such a trade. That's why I wasn't worried about it at first and why I know this other Kira is a fake.

 **CyberPsycho:** Apparently up to six Death Notes can be in the human world at once. And now there's at least three.

 **CyberPsycho:** But even with the Shinigami eyes, the Second Kira won't see my name, not even when my face is showing. Since I own a Death Note, it will be blank.

 **CyberPsycho:** I've thought about getting the Shinigami Eyes myself, because it means I could help find Kira faster. But I've no interest in going to purgatory. I think we can beat him without it.

 **CyberPsycho: R** egardless of that, here's what you need to know—you have to send me up on TV instead. I can pose as L and the Second Kira won't be able to kill me. And they just might believe I'm L.

It was so much to take in. L could hardly keep his fingers busy as he tried to wrap his head around all of this. Jack said this Death Note had rules, and he desperately wanted to know them, but they didn't have long between Light being summoned here and Nox lurking. This all sounded so impossible- so insane. But at the same time, it made perfect sense.

Nothing else explained everything. Nothing else fit. This was too outlandish for Jack to just come up with. And what reason would she have for doing such a thing? He had to trust her. He did trust her.

 **Ryuzaki:** I understand you're position now. This makes sense.

 **CyberPsycho:** I have an idea that might help us openly talk about this. My Death Note is in my satchel, hidden inside a flap on the inside.

 **CyberPsycho:** If you happen to "find" it on your own, Nox might let me off. But we should add more to it than just that.

 **CyberPsycho:** Start openly suggesting the idea of Shinigami's existence. This can spawn from the notes Kira left about them loving apples. (They do, btw)

 **CyberPsycho:** Then, you can act suspicious of me, and investigate my things to find the notebook.

 **Ryuzaki:** Jack, this sounds risky. What if he kills you anyway?

 **CyberPsycho:** It's a risk we have to take. This case needs us to be able to talk about this shit.

 **Ryuzaki:** You just had an outburst about me throwing away my life. Don't you think this is a touch hypocritical?

 **CyberPsycho:** We really and truly don't have much a choice here. Let's try to meet on IM once a day, I can give you more info each time.

 **CyberPsycho:** I'll get you a scrap of paper from the notebook so you can see Nox. It might come at any time, so just be prepared.

 **Ryuzaki:** Jack, you're in serious danger. Perhaps you should destroy the notebook after all. Since you told me, maybe the memories will stay with me.

 **CyberPsycho:** That's a risk we can't take, L. Just trust me. Please.

L took a deep breath and glanced toward her. Her facial expression was schooled into one of disinterest.

"Man, sometimes coding can be so dull," she said. "Sorry if you're bored, the server is almost ready."

"Right," L murmured.

He looked at the screen, heart pulsating in his ears and neck.

 **Ryuzaki:** Fine. But please just back off if it starts getting too dangerous.

 **CyberPsycho:** Who do you take me for, some reckless noob? It'll be fine. For all I know Nox is bluffing. He says he likes me. And tbh he's pretty chill, for a Shinigami.

 **Ryuzaki:** I have to admit this is a lot to take in, but let's just keep moving forward. I'm not sure how we'll convince the others that you are a good substitute to put up on TV.

 **CyberPsycho:** I'll find a way. I always do. Time to go. I'm deleting this server. Luckily, Nox just sat over by the window complaining about the rain the whole time.

And the window suddenly closed.

L tabbed back to his word document and kept typing up all his thoughts and notes on the case so far. They weren't going to upload it to anything, but it was a good cover for Nox. Jack went back to her coding page and typed away for a moment longer before hitting the enter key with finality.

"There. Got enough to upload?" she asked, glancing over at him.

L gave her a small nod and acted as if he was saving the file and transferring it over. In reality he was just moving the file to the recycling bin and deleting it. Of course, this was the laptop that had nothing on it, the one he purely used when he was communicating with Jack. So sure enough, when an email popped up from one of her many email addresses, he went ahead and opened the link within it, allowing her virus to wipe the hard drive completely.

"All right." Jack smiled and closed her laptop. "Good to go. And Nox was only mildly irritating." She sent a smirk in the direction of the window. He must have given her a stinging reply, for she gave an over exaggerated gasp and said, "How dare you make fun of my laugh!"

L closed his laptop, realizing he was going to have to install yet another operating system on it. "He doesn't like your laugh?" he asked as he shifted to get off the bed. Sitting so splayed out for so long made him feel tired. He only ever did that when he slept.

"He's trying to get on board with the whole 'your mom' jokes, except he's trying to use a different formula each time," Jack explained. She too was getting up from the bed. "His reply was: 'Not as annoying as your laugh.'" She stuck her tongue out toward the window.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I am quite fond of your laugh," L said.

Jack paused just as she was setting her laptop on the bedside table. She looked back at him, eyes narrowed and a smile tugging her lips.

"Why thank you, detective. If only I'd heard you laugh, I could say the same," she said. But there was something tinging her cheeks.

"Are you blushing?" L asked.

"What? Psh, me? Blush? Ha." Jack pointedly turned her back at that point. "Nothing fazes the great Cyber Detective."

"You are blushing."

"Am not—okay, fine, whatever, so what if I am?" She faced him again, looking exacerbated. "Not many people pay me compliments, I suppose I'm not used to it."

L stood fully, setting his own laptop on top of her dresser. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he faced her again. "Matsuda has complimented you."

"Matsuda compliments almost everyone." Jack waved him off.

L tilted his head. He wasn't sure what he was trying to do here. They'd completed what they came in here to do. He now had a lot of things to take into account- so many that it nearly made him want to shut himself away in a room by himself so he could sort through all of it. But at the same time, he found himself searching for information. Only problem was, he wasn't sure what he was trying to find information on.

"Blushing is typically caused by psychological reasons and is involuntary," L murmured. "It is usually caused by emotional stress, which is commonly in the areas of embarrassment, anger or frustration... or..." He kept his gaze steadily on hers. She seemed to be growing even darker in shade as he went on. Finally, without looking away, he said, "...romantic tension."

Now the blush reached the tips of her ears. She immediately looked away, letting out a strained laugh. "Well, you will also find that severe blushing can be a result of social anxiety. People who suffer from it can start blushing while put on the spot in social situations." Her green eyes fleetingly darted toward him again, then toward the window, and back to her feet. "Charles Darwin called it the most peculiar of all human expressions, after all."

There was a resounding thud in L's chest. She was so wild. So brave. So intelligent. So determined. There were so many things about her, even her flaws... that L found fascinating; so much so he could scarcely think of anything else at times.

 _Romantic tension..._

There was a question tangled up within him, it had been for about two, maybe even three months now. It didn't have anything to do with Kira. And now he knew the answer to the question was standing before him, beat-red and glaring at her socked feet.

"We should get back to the others, yeah?" Jack suddenly said. "Figure out if the Chief got a hold of Light." She swallowed. L could see the bob in her delicate throat. "And for the record, I've seen you blush too." She cast a glance toward him before abruptly walking toward her bathroom. "I need to freshen up a bit. Go on, you can get some royal milk tea on for me. Call it penance for making me feel so..."

Jack didn't finish the sentence. Instead she shut the door behind her without looking back. L let out a long exhale and glanced toward the window, wondering if Nox was still here, or if he followed her. Somehow, thinking the Shinigami, god of death or not, prying on Jack in her bathroom made his fists ball up in his pockets.

L shook his head and turned toward the door. So. This wasn't something one would feel toward a friend. He wasn't wrong after all.

It still wasn't good.

* * *

 _Jack_

"Gah! What the hell does he think he's trying to do?" I rasped as I gripped the edges of the sink.

"If you ask me, it was a really weird attempt at flirting," Nox said. He was sitting on the toilet. With his tall stature, his knees were nearly at his chin despite his feet being on the tiled floor.

"Don't say that, you'll make it worse!" I snapped at him.

Nox chuckled softly. "You humans fascinate me," he murmured. "But do you think it's a good idea to get involved with someone who can barely even express emotion?"

"Have you met me?" I faced him and placed a hand on my hip. "Me and people just don't get along. I have come to terms that humanity and I are never going to be compatible. And _yet_ there's that jackass! Making me red in the face and throwing words around like _romantic tension_ —who does he think he is?"

I turned to the mirror again, glaring at my face, my still-red cheeks. At least the color left my ears.

"So what exactly are you saying, Jack?" Nox grinned at me, shark teeth gleaming in the florescent lighting. "You and humanity don't get along, and that seems to be the same with L. So you're a match made in heaven?"

"Funny for you to talk about heaven," I muttered. I pushed away from the counter, letting a long breath out through my nose. "Look. Since you're stuck with me literally everywhere I go, and there's the whole fact that you can kill by writing someone's name down..." I turned to him again, narrowing my eyes. "You have to understand what I'm trying to do here. You've known all along. If I found out someone was using a Death Note for this kind of crap, I'd stop them. You agreed at least to letting me do that, with some rules... but..."

I shook my head and glared at the ground. There was so much happening inside me at that moment. The firestorm that rose when there was the talk of L dying was starting to spit and hiss again. But there was something else. Something softer than the harsh burn of flame. Like somewhere, deep in a corner of my chest, there was a little flower starting to bud. A rose beginning to show color through the green leaves encasing it.

"I shoved my brother out of my life because I wanted to keep him safe from this," I said. "I never let anyone close since you showed up. In some weird way, you're kind of my friend in all this. And L... even if I shoved him away, this is the shit he does for a living and no one is going to stop him. That's obvious. So... he's kind of like the one other human I can actually be around while doing all this shit."

I leaned against the wall and slid down to sit. I rested my arms on my knees shaking my head again.

"I don't know how I got here. But I have a Shinigami for a friend, and I... fuck it all, I like L." I stared up at the ceiling now. "Somehow, somewhere down the road, I fell for his stupid, quirky, pale ass." I fixated my gaze onto Nox's one visible eye. It was wide, shimmering ice-blue. "And I don't think I want to... to not try. It sounds horrible, doesn't it? We have so much other shit going on. And I'm a total mess to deal with as a person—that was true even before you came along. But for the first time in... over a decade... I want to invite someone into my life."

I suddenly got to my feet. Even standing and Nox sitting, I wasn't much taller than him, but I still tried to use the height to my advantage. To seem intimidating and strong. I glared down at him, keeping my chin high.

"Nox, I know this is a dangerous and stupid game I'm playing with you. I know you're a god of death, and I can't do shit to hurt you or anything else. But I will die before I let anything happen to L. And if that happens, you have to give him my Death Note."

Nox blinked. "You're serious?"

"Nox, please," I said. "We've been through a lot haven't we? And I know you say you won't help me. But you also told me you like me." I narrowed my eyes. "And I like you too. It's like I said, you've become my friend. Whether you see it that way or not, that's how I feel. So, just do one thing for me if this shit ends up killing me, and do that. Give it to him next. If anyone can figure out why Shinigami exist—if there _is_ a reason—it's him."

Nox gripped his chin with a long-fingered hand. He observed me, a small smirk tugging his lips. "You really mean all of this."

"I do," I said firmly.

Nox let out a small breath of amusement, shaking his head. "You know what, Jack? If you can figure out who Kira is and you keep to our rules, then I'll do it."

A smile crept across my face. "You can make yourself tangible right?"

"Huh?" Nox tilted his head.

"Like when you pick up apples—you can become solid and interact with things in the world."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Can you do it right now for me?"

Nox's eye squinted in suspicion.

"Why?'

"Just do it!"

Nox continued to glare at me.

"Are you doing—?" I began.

"Yes, I'm doing it, now get it over with," he spat.

I beamed and wrapped my arms around his narrow shoulders tightly. For a moment he didn't move. But then his long arms twined around my torso. I was fairly certain that they could wrap around me twice. He felt bony and malnourished. But there was also doubtless strength in his limbs. I wondered if Shinigami ever killed by more physical means.

"Thank you," I whispered to him.

"Don't make this weirder than it already is," he replied curtly.

I laughed and released him. Nox leaned back and looked me over.

"Your blush is gone," he noted.

I glanced toward the mirror to see he was right.

"Huh." I gave myself a sly wink and finger guns. "Guess I'm ready to get out on stage."

"How come you don't blush for me?" Nox asked as I headed for the door.

Casting a grin over my shoulder, I replied, "Weren't you the one who just said that Shinigami don't do sex?"

"Yet you still don't let me in the bathroom or see you naked."

"That's even weird when a dog or cat sees it." I walked out of the bathroom. "Come on then, and do try not to be too terribly distracting, will you?"

"If you insist," Nox sighed, following after me.

I headed out of my room to find that L was in the kitchen making tea and the officers were sitting around the coffee table in the living room. Matsuda was still smiling and they were all talking in hushed tones.

"Ah yes, make all your speculations, dear officers," I cooed to them. "But you will find that the most scandalous thing that happened in there was L sitting normally."

Matsuda laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "What? We weren't saying that you two were doing anything untoward in there."

"Yet you have the need to use a word like 'untoward,'" I pointed out with a sly smirk. "You're not that hard to read, Matsuda."

Matsuda's face tinged red as his laugh became more nervous. "All right, sure, I thought maybe something might have happened."

"As much as anything could happen between the two of you." Aizawa's eyes flicked between L and me. "You two don't seem great with people."

"That's why it's perfect!" Matsuda said in a loud whisper.

"Well, our dating lives aside," L sighed as he poured some royal milk tea into some cups. "Light accepted our invitation. He's on his way."

"That's good," I said. But another part of me was slightly disappointed. I felt weird enough talking to L openly with Nox around. Now that Light was going to be present too... But what was I thinking? If I really wanted to pursue this with L, I had to at least wait until after this case. I had to get us both out of it alive. Then maybe... maybe I could consider...

L gathered the cups on a tray and took it over to the coffee table. It was a bit odd seeing him act the waiter. Usually Watari did the butler-like duties. I was going to miss the old man. I think he knew about my feelings toward L even before I did. The last thing he said to us before he left was, "Be sure to take care of each other."

I went over to the couch and plopped down beside L. "This is going to be eventful," I sighed as I snatched a cup of tea. "Best hype up on caffeine now, eh? What better way than with good ol' royal milk tea. Ah—Light's a synth, that's right, should we make him coffee?"

"What's a synth?" Matsuda asked.

"Does anyone play video games around here?" I groaned.

"I have a pot going now," L assured. "It should be ready by the time he gets here."

I nodded and sipped my cup. My feelings that there was a Second Kira were doubtless. It was like L had said, this new Kira had no style. So, if the real Kira was Light, I felt confident he didn't have the Shinigami eyes. But... if he somehow teamed up with the Second Kira... he might as well have them. I would be safe. But L... He would be vulnerable.

While we waited for Light to arrive, I scoured my brain for tactics to keep the detective safe. He could cover his face like I did when I went to Sakura TV. But that would make things a bit tricky if he was trying to be inconspicuous in public. A scarf might work, but it was April. The weather hardly called for-

Ah. Duh. What did the majority of Japanese citizens wear and no one batted an eye at?

"Ryu," I said suddenly. "I think if we have to leave the hotel again or are around anyone besides the task force, we need to wear those white masks." The ones that surgeons wore. Or, in this particular culture, wore to keep others from getting sick or to keep from getting sick themselves. "So many people wear them year round, it won't seem out of place."

"That's not a bad idea," Matsuda said, perking up. "We could all do that!"

"I'll bring some packets next time we come over," Aizawa said. "Good thinking, Nina."

I beamed at his praise. But what made me even more pleased was L nodding and the impressed gleam in his eyes.

"Indeed," he said. "And since we're 'dating' it won't be a stretch for both of us to be sick at the same time."

I laughed. "Too much snogging."

"Quite." L grinned toward me lightly.

Matsuda let out a small giggle at our exchange and turned red when I shot him a sharp look.

"For the record, you guys are making it too easy to mess with you about this," Aizawa pointed out.

There was a knock on the door.

I hopped to my feet, adjusting the winged headphones on my head. "Well, it's time to get serious, won't you all agree?" I smiled wickedly at the officers.

Yagami rubbed the back of his neck. "It's a little unsettling how enthusiastic you seem about this. This is my son you're going to be investigating."

"I like picking brains," I said as I strode toward the door. "Regardless of guilt. Just call me Hannibal Lector!" I gripped the handle and swung the door wide. "About time Ligh—"

I cut off.

For the person standing in the doorway was not Light Yagami.

It was my brother, Austin.


	21. Who're Jack's Real Parents?

_Austin_

Finding out exactly where Jack was hiding out was no small feat, but one thing that Austin's sister constantly did was underestimate him.

The company that Austin worked for was an agency that dealt with secret information. Obtaining it. Exchanging it for money. They were information brokers, to put it lightly. Not everything he did was specifically legal. Yet even with all of the expertise he'd gained from his job, that wasn't how he was able to obtain information on L's true name.

Jack was an expert of keeping herself hidden from the world. She never let anyone get close to her, physically or emotionally. She'd been detached all her life, but it got really bad when their father died. She was a ghost. But the thing was, while Jack was intent to make sure nobody ever knew her, she didn't even know herself.

When Austin was seven, his parents, Elizabeth and Shaun Townsend, brought home a four-year-old girl with white-blond hair and leaf-green eyes. Austin remembered being confused. Didn't babies usually have to spend time in a mother's belly? And weren't they smaller when they first arrived? But here his parents were telling him this was his little sister.

But as Austin grew up, he came to find out exactly why his parents brought this child home. Why she needed to be here.

He didn't learn exactly what his father did for a living until he was eighteen. Austin was more than past the age when he fully understood his sister was adopted. But his parents hadn't told her, or even confirmed it with him. Despite being four when she was taken in, Jack never gave any indication she remembered a life before living with the Townsends. She never mentioned parents or where she was from.

The night Austin's father told him the truth, it had just been the two of them in the house. Austin's mother had taken Jack with her on a business trip to Hawaii. Austin remembered his little sister not being thrilled in the least to go, complaining it was going to be too hot. To be honest, he felt the same and was pleased he got to stay in Canada. However, nasty thunderstorm swept in and stole the power from their home. Candles littered the house and Shaun had found some flashlights. They'd already played through all four of their board games three times each. Without his mother or sister there, Austin got brave enough to finally ask.

"Who are Jack's real parents?"

Shaun had looked at him with a surprised blink, but the shock didn't last long. He sighed and smiled lightly at Austin.

"You are too smart for your own good, Austin," he told him. "You know that I've told you I work a very dangerous job."

Austin had nodded mutely.

"Well, I meet interesting people at my job," he explained. "All over the world, there are people that I have to work with and help and sometimes they help me too."

"Jack says your part of the CIA," Austin said.

Shaun laughed. "Does she?" He shook his head. "She's watched too many action movies."

Austin had seen the way his father looked away though. It was then he knew. He knew that his father's job wasn't just some cop gig. He had too many black suits, too many handguns locked in the garage. He had to be on his computer too often, a computer Austin and Jack weren't allowed to touch and had never been able to hack into. If it wasn't CIA, it was something very close.

"So who are her real parents?" Austin pressed.

Shaun sighed heavily and said, "We adopted your sister from a place called Wammy House. She'd been being taken care of there since she was two. The gentleman that runs the place didn't initially want to adopt her out to your mother and me."

"Why not?" Austin tilted his head.

"Because Wammy House isn't a place that usually adopts out their children," Shaun said. "They are usually raised there. Think of it like an advanced boarding school. But there was a case I was working that led me to work with the owner of it. One of their kids had gone missing along with about twelve other kids in the area."

"Jack?" Austin guessed.

Shaun nodded. "There was a terrorist attack attempt. They were going to use the kids as human shields of sorts. Most of the children were snagged in neighborhoods and parks. So it didn't add up when they went out of their way to break into an orphanage and take a single four-year-old girl. So the owner approached us, knowing we were working on that case and he suggested that the girl was taken by the same people we were after."

"And you believed him?" Austin asked.

Shaun shook his head. "Not at first. But this guy managed to find me and immediately knew who I worked for. What I was. What case I was working. That was impressive enough as it was. He even took me to Wammy House and walked me around, showing me the forced open window near the girl's room as well as her records they had for her in their file room. She had started showing IQ levels far above what was average for her age. But that was the thing about Wammy House. They took in the brightest and smartest kids. So it still didn't make sense they chose her of all the kids there. The only thing unique about her was she was the youngest kid at the orphanage."

Austin observed as his father leaned back in the couch with a low breath.

"The people who were planning that attack weren't just out to make chaos alone. There were so many other plans they had. And somehow, somewhere along the line, they'd found out about Wammy House. About the incredibly intelligent kids inside."

"Why did they take her?" Austin asked.

"Well, it was more complicated than we expected" Shaun sighed. "Jack was still young, but she was dangerously smart. At first, I thought they intended to raise her as their own agent. Maybe make her a weapon. When we finally found their location, they made it impossible to take any of them alive."

"Were the kids okay?" Austin whispered.

Shaun nodded. "Yeah. Yeah we got there in time to save all of them. But we were a long ways from Wammy House. Two days drive to be exact. So while some my coworkers set to getting all the other kids home, I was tasked with getting little Jack back to her orphanage."

He let out a long breath, making the candles on the table flicker as the air passed over them.

"Somehow, I bonded with her during that time," he said. "I think it might have been a mix of things. I hadn't seen you for six months. I missed being around my son and being a father. And Jack took to me quickly. She was so shy around everyone else, but with me it was different. She babbled and cooed to me. Even though she was only four, she was forming complex sentences with even more complex vocabulary."

"So did you ask if you could adopt her, then?" Austin queried.

Shaun shook his head. "Actually, when the owner saw the bond we developed... he asked me to."

Austin blinked, confused. "But I thought you said they didn't adopt kids out."

"They didn't," Shaun said. "At first I was confused. I tried to get more information from him, but he wouldn't give me anything. It wasn't until about two months after we brought her home he sent me an email."

Austin had never seen his father look so conflicted. Shaun leaned forward, clasping his hands before him and pressing his lips to his knuckles. His blue eyes reflected the flickering candlelight.

"Austin, you do understand that you can never tell you sister about this, right?" Shaun asked, voice hardly more than a whisper.

"Yeah, of course," Austin said. "I haven't told her she's adopted yet, have I?"

"You don't understand." Shaun turned to face him. "This could... it could be very dangerous. But... I won't be around forever. Neither will your mother. So if it does come down to it, you're going to have to be the one to look after her."

Austin frowned and furrowed his brow. "Jeez, dad, you're making it sound really..."

"Bad?" Shaun finished for him. "That's because it is. The terrorist that orchestrated that whole thing with kidnapping all those kids? We never caught him. He's still at large. He's taken the nickname 'Moriarty.' Perhaps because he's based in England or maybe he's just a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I don't know how or when the owner of Wammy House got the information but... that man is Jack's biological father."

Austin remembered the sensation of the floor falling out from beneath him. Of his legs going numb. Jack's real dad was a terrorist? Holy hell.

"And that stunt isn't the only thing he's pulled," Shaun murmured. "He's been involved with just about every damn criminal organization you can think of. There's no concrete proof, or even any record of his true name, but many believe he's behind over four hundred deaths, eighteen counts of major fraud, countless robberies from banks, stores, and even residential areas. His main playground was London, though. So I think the owner of Wammy House believed Jack would be safe in Canada, since her father had managed to figure out she was in that orphanage."

It was total madness—like shit from a movie. But it was then that Austin started to wonder about things his sister would do when she was first taken into their home. He remembered her playing with stuffed animals—taking a dark fluffy puppy and dubbing it 'L Lawliet.' When he asked her about it, she'd gotten mad.

"Why were you eavesdropping?" she demanded. Like Shaun had said, her vocabulary was not suited for a four-year-old. "You can't tell. He told me because he trusted me. I'm his friend—and friends don't betray each other! So if you ever tell anyone about him, I'll be mad, even if you are my brother."

It was such a strange name to call something, and she'd reacted in such a strange way, that Austin never forgot it. So when she called him three years ago, telling him about a place called Wammy House and begging him to go there to see if he could find the famous detective L's true name... it finally clicked.

Jack had known L during her time at Wammy House, but somehow, she'd forgotten all about it. Perhaps she blocked it out. Austin almost told her then and there, but he had made a promise to his father. So he agreed. He even got on the stupid plane and flew all the way to England. He even found the building, though there was no getting in. He stared at it for a while, wondering what his sister went through there. Then, he called his sister and told her the name she'd told him a mere week after she'd come home with Shaun.

Now that their father was gone, Austin wanted to keep his vow. He would take care of Jack, because no matter where she came from, she was still his sister. His Booger-Bear. So when Clyde told him she was in Japan, it was finally confirmed that she was working on the Kira case. Kira was perhaps the most dangerous criminal in human history—even more than Jack's biological father.

Austin had pulled every single one of his contacts. He used all the resources he possibly could, checking every possible variable. Security cameras in Tokyo, hotel records, he even got in contact with a few spies his company had posing as cabbies in the area. By himself, he'd never be able to follow up on all of these. But he had an entire army of people who did this shit for a living, just like he did.

It took a week to find her. Between people cross-referencing the photos of Jack Austin provided them to all the security camera footage they could and tracking down the name 'Nina Forner' in hotel records, his people were able to pinpoint her location. She was changing hotels every three days. But she'd only just checked into her current one a few hours before Austin got the report. It was enough time for him to fly over to Tokyo and find her.

Of course, pulling this kind of shit wasn't exactly condoned in his work. It wasn't something he was allowed to use for personal reasons. He'd had to tell his contacts that this 'Nina Forner' was in possession of sensitive information. The only person who knew the truth was Clyde.

And now... now he was here.

Austin stared down at his little sister as she blinked up at him, her face slack with a mixture of awe and horror. Her hair was shorter than the last time he'd seen her. This was the first time he'd seen it blue. He wondered what made her choose that color. Her leaf-green eyes were blinking rapidly as she staggered a step back.

"You-you can't be here," she rasped.

"Does that mean I can come in?" Austin asked her.

"Who is it?" The question was asked in Japanese. Fortunately, with all of Jack's manga and anime obsession, it was one of the languages he elected to learn with her. A man came up behind Jack. He was tall and had a thick afro of dark hair and plump lips. His hand was going toward his hip where Austin spied a gun holster.

"Aizawa, wait!" Jack cried, reverting her own language to Japanese as she turned in time to spot his motion. "He—we can trust him. I don't know how in the living, breathing hells he got here or how he knew where to go, but..."

"Nina, I don't understand, who the hell is this guy?" the man she'd called Aizawa demanded.

"I must admit, I am quite curious myself..."

Another person came to Jack's side. He had to be around her age, bearing dark, layered hair and an ashen complexion. Shadowy circles hugged the lower lids of his eyes. His posture was slouched and he wore a long-sleeve white shirt and jeans that seemed too big on his thin frame. His gray eyes examined Austin so thoroughly that it made him feel naked.

"Friggin' hell, this is so... shit." Jack reached out and grabbed Austin by the hem of his sleeve, yanking him inside. The door closed behind him. "Aussie, what the actual hell are you doing here?!"

"Aussie?" the pale man echoed. A gleam of understanding hit his dark gaze as he looked back to Austin.

"A nickname," Jack explained carelessly.

"How do we know we can trust this guy?" Another man demanded. He, like the one called Aizawa, wore a gray suit and had a gun holster. He seemed younger though, and had a mop of black hair that hung down toward his eyes. Austin was going to guess they were cops. "How does he know you and how did he know where to find us?"

"Through a lot of creative string-pulling, I'd assume," Jack sighed. "And we can trust him because he's my brother."

The young man beside her nodded. "I assumed as much," he murmured.

"That still doesn't answer how he came to find us." This came from the third suited man in the room. He appeared to be the eldest, with gray cresting his hair and mustache. "Did you call him?"

"Of course not!" Jack cried. "He... must have put two and two together."

"Regardless, we don't have time to approach this particular issue right this moment," the pale man said. "Nina, please have him wait in your room. We can let him out once Light has left. This detail would be best kept from him for now until we know what all it entails."

"Yeah, probably for the best," Jack said. She fixed her eyes on Austin and started speaking English again. "Aussie, please go hang out in my bedroom, it's over here." She began walking toward a door toward the east side of the room. "We're expecting sensitive company and you're not invited."

"Jack—" Austin began.

Jack held up a finger to him. "Don't call me that here. It's Nina. And we'll have to think of a better name for your stupid ass too." She shook her head. "You shouldn't have come here, Aussie."

He followed her to the room and obediently stepped inside. Jack looked him over for a moment before saying, "My laptop is in there, you know the password."

"I do?" Austin raised a brow.

Jack nodded. "You do."

Then she shut the door in his face.

* * *

 _Jack_

Holy hell.

Out of all the stupid wild cards that could be thrown my way, the last one I expected was my brother. I turned away from my bedroom door, my heart a pinball in my ribcage. The officers all looked baffled and confused. L, meanwhile, had his brows pinched an low. The expression he gained when he was trying to solve a problem.

"Oh ho ho," Nox chortled as he sloped toward me. "Now this... _this_ is good. How complicated can we make this? Do you have any ex-lovers to add to the mix, Jack?"

I shot him a scathing look before fixating my attention back on the task force. "I'll drill him for how the hell he got here later," I assured them.

"It must have been quite the feat if he didn't have assistance from you," L pointed out. His glance toward me was questioning.

"I already said I didn't call him!" I barked back. "Or message him or—I didn't tell him where I was or what I was doing, okay? I haven't talked to him for almost a year!"

"Is there some conflict between the two of you?" Matsuda asked warily.

"No it's not like that," I sighed. "Look. Let's please just put my family life aside for now. I do not want anyone knowing he's here, especially Light." I cast a small apologetic glance toward Yagami. "No offense, Chief."

"No, I understand," Yagami admitted. "If you have even the slightest suspicions of anyone, you wouldn't want them to know you have family nearby."

"Family that knows your real name," Aizawa added. "Yeah... yeah I can see how that would put you on edge."

"As Nina said, let's save this conversation for later," L intervened. "We need to focus on the task ahead of us."

I went back to the couch and flopped down beside the detective. My legs lost feeling the moment they weren't needed. Austin... what the hell was he doing here? Good intentions or not, there were so many ways he could not only jeopardize this case, but get himself killed. I wasn't a moron, there was only one way he could have figured out where to find me and that was by utilizing all of his resources at his job. The job that he held with some agency even I didn't know the name of because I knew if they somehow figured out it was me poking around about them it could get Austin in serious trouble.

I was willing to bet my entire Pokemon card collection that they didn't know or approve that he'd pulled that kind of crap just to find his baby sister. If they figured it out he could be discretely murdered or locked away for the rest of his life. I always knew that Austin's job was dangerous and that was one of the main reasons why I didn't want him near me when I got my Death Note. He had enough shit to deal with. Not to mention... maybe if I just vanished without a trace, he'd be too pissed to be upset when I ended up getting killed in this stupid mission of mine.

Running my hands through my hair, I tried to ground myself. To recenter and focus on the task ahead of me. Austin would have to wait.

Especially since there was a new knock on the door.

This time, Yagami rose and headed for the door. Maybe it was obvious that my legs were not going to carry me for a while. A heartbeat later, the Chief returned with his son in tow. Light looked pleasant as usual. He passed a warm smile to each of us as he sat down in the open chair we'd left for him.

 _Uki might have used that chair if he was still alive,_ I realized. Fuck, now was no time to think about that either. I was fairly certain that Ukita would be livid if he knew I was letting his death cloud my mind.

"S'up Light?" I greeted him in English and flashed him a wide smile. The officers actually appeared surprised. Perhaps they didn't realize that I spent most of my life living an act.

"Hello again, Nina," Light replied in my native language to me. "It's nice to see you today. You look lovely." He smiled again.

I wasn't expecting the compliment. I waved him off. "That's my secret, captain, I'm always lovely."

Light let out a small laugh but I could see the slight confusion in his eyes. He didn't get the reference. First no one plays Fallout 4, now no one has seen the Avengers. A real tragedy, to be honest.

The officers around the room introduced themselves with their aliases. Even Chief Yagami did. Light frowned at them all and said, "I see. Should I be going by a different last name too as well then?"

"That would be for the best," L said. "If you don't mind, I'll stick to calling you Light."

"Same," I added, reverting to Japanese as the room did.

"I'd like to start by having you go over all the information we've gathered so far," L said, getting to his feet. "I'd also like you to review these videos..." The detective padded across the room where the TV was set up with all the files and other evidence we had scattered on the table in front of it. L tapped the tapes with an index finger. "They were sent to Sakura TV along with the ones they broadcast, but these ones were never aired."

Light stood and went over to him. Seeing them side by side increased the contrast between the two. Light with his perfect posture and hair. Then there was L, slouched and with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"For security purposes, you cannot take notes nor can any of this leave the room," L instructed.

"Makes sense," Light agreed. "I'll do my best, Ryuga."

"Mm, I must ask that you refer to me as Ryuzaki from now on," L said.

"Of course." Light glanced back toward me. "Are you still Nina?"

"Yeah, I like to keep things simple." I shrugged and smiled.

"That's a lie," Nox said with a chuckle.

I resisted throwing a pillow at him.

The rest of us were silent as Light watched the first of the four videos the Second Kira had sent Sakura TV. L hovered the closest to him, a finger pressed to his lips. Ordinarily I would get up and smack his hand away from his mouth to keep him from being tempted to bite his nails. If only my legs would work. I couldn't help but cast a few furtive glances toward my bedroom door. With Light's back to me I didn't feel worried about him seeing them.

 _Damn it, Austin, why did he have to show up here and now of all the times and places?_

Not only was I going to be in constant distress that Austin was going to get himself killed, but I also had the delightful time of being stuck with Nox, Light, _and_ my big brother hovering around while I was just accepting the fact that I had feelings for L.

I couldn't have picked a better time to finally realize I had a heart and it yearned for a quirky pale detective.

"This is bullshit," I breathed in English.

Out of the task force, only Matsuda seemed to hear me. He looked back and his eyes darted between me and my bedroom door then to L. He ended up giving me an encouraging smile, as if to tell me that everything would be okay. He seemed to notice my entire dilemma, at least the romantic one. I smiled back at him but I was fairly certain it came out as a grimace. Sweet Matsuda. Maybe I'll ask him for advice on how to deal with boys.

When the video finally finished, L approached Light, leaning down to look into his face. "So, what did you make of that?" he asked.

From where I was, I could see Light's hands on the armrests of his chair. As he got to his feet, I couldn't help but notice how his fingers dug into them, his knuckles paling for just a moment. Odd. Was that an angry reaction?

If it was, it could be taken in many ways. Perhaps Light was just the son of a police chief hoping to become a detective one day and he couldn't believe the atrocities that Kira committed. Perhaps he was irritated because he just realized it was another test. Or maybe Light was mad because this knock-off wannabe just made this public declaration that he was Kira when his presentation and tact was nothing like the real Kira. It was an insult. An atrocity to everything Kira stood for.

Either way, when Light rose, so did I. My legs found their feeling again. I pushed Austin to the back of my mind and slammed the door. Right now, all of my focus had to be here. With L. With Light.

"Honestly?" Light sighed as he looked from face to face. "I don't think this is Kira."

There was a collective shock sent throughout the room like static; raised brows and slack jaws marked its travel. Even I pinched my lips together in a thoughtful frown. Huh. What a twist.

"Is that so?" L asked, tilting his head. He was the only one that kept his expression akin to stone.

"Yeah," Light insisted. "I mean, it's totally out of his character. He'd never chosen those kinds of victims before. Not to mention, the showmanship of this presentation... well..." His gaze went back to the TV.

"Pretty crappy, huh?" I said as I strode up to stand beside L.

Light looked back at me. "That's one way to put it. It's certainly lacking any sort of flare. I feel like if the real Kira made these videos, he'd at least have a higher quality camera and voice distorter."

"I agree with you," L said. "This is the same conclusion that Nina and myself came to when we first saw the videos."

"Wait, so if you already thought that, then was this just another one of your tests?" Light asked as he folded his arms.

"Ding, ding, ding!" I sang. "We've got a winner, folks. What's his prize?" I pointed at L. "If my beautiful assistant could raise curtain number one?"

L's mouth twitched a bit with a smile. "Beautiful. That's a new one."

"I have a collection of compliments and sweet talking stored up just for you, Ryu." I winked at him. "As long as you keep pumping me full of milk tea."

"It's royal milk tea," L corrected. "We've been over this. Only in England is there milk tea and even then it's called tea with milk—"

I made a fart noise in my palm to interrupt him.

"If we could maybe get back on task?" Light asked with a laugh. He seemed to be putting up an amused front, but I got the sense he was annoyed with us as his eyes darted between L and me.

L cleared his throat. "Mm, yes, of course. It's settled. The first thing we need to do is take care of this imposter. We can gather from their actions that they idolize the real Kira but lack his sophistication."

"There's a good chance they might even obey the original." I laced my hands behind my head and grinned. "If that's the case, we could totally lure this douche canoe into a trap."

"How?" Matsuda asked.

"By making a reply video from the real Kira," L explained.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Light admitted. "You literally took the words right out of my mouth."

"Did we?" I asked. "You don't seem the type to use the phrase 'douche canoe,' just saying."

"That isn't what I meant," Light sighed. "It's just that this is the perfect plan for us to find the imposter."

"Oh, another thing, Light," L put in. "I would like you to play the part of Kira in this video."

Light's eyes shot wide. "Me? As Kira?" His words were hesitant and stilted.

"Well, duh," I said. "You're honestly the only we could think of that could do it well."

"Why not one of you?" Light asked. "You're both so intelligent and you're the ones who have been working the case from the beginning..."

"True, but we have more bias than you, I think," I said. "After all, this shit got friends of ours killed."

"I see..." Light looked at his feet for a moment. I examined his face, hoping for any sort of clue that damned him as Kira. But he merely looked conflicted and uncomfortable, which was believable enough for the police chief's son after being asked to participate in such a way.

"In any case, we don't have time to waste," L pointed out. "Can you get started right away?"

Light finally looked back up and he nodded. His face was now set in determination. "Yes. If it helps us catch this murderer and the real Kira in the long run, I'm more than happy to help."

"All right. You two do that, I'm going to take a quick shower, if you don't mind," I said as I stretched and headed for my room. I had to talk to Austin. It looked like Light was going to be here a bit longer than I anticipated. Best to let him

know whole trying to get some answers.

No one argued with me and when I reached my bedroom door, I was careful to slip inside without anyone able to see within. Nox had to phase through the door I shut it so fast behind me.

Austin was seated at my desk playing solitaire on my laptop. He glanced back when I entered and opened his mouth. I quickly pressed my finger to my lips before he could talk. I darted into my bathroom and started the shower water. It would make those outside think I'd started and mask my voice. When I went back into my main room, I folded my arms while surveying my brother.

"We still have company," I whispered. "And seriously? Solitaire? I have Civ IV on there."

"That game takes too much time," Austin said, his voice equally hushed. "I don't want to commit to something I might not be able to finish."

I sighed and shook my head. "I don't have long. Look can you just tell me why you're here and how the hell you found us so that Ryu doesn't end up locking you away?"

"Ryu?" Austin blinked.

I gave him my best, _Come on, you know who I mean_ , look.

"Oh. Right." Austin shook his head. "Okay. Well, I'm here because you're my little sister and even though you think we no longer need a relationship, I get a say in that too."

Ouch. I shifted my gaze to my socked feet. I knew that ditching Austin was a shit thing to do, but I didn't want him caught up in something as dangerous as the Death Note. When Nox and I first met, the Shinigami gave several hints that if I were to tell anyone about the notebook, everyone who knew would be dead. I was terrified Austin might find out on accident and Nox wouldn't care. Not only would I be toast but so would my brother.

Of course, I couldn't exactly explain that to Austin. Especially not with said Shinigami hovering behind me.

"Family drama," he drawled.

I ignored Nox as I finally found the courage to meet my brother's eyes again. "I'm sorry. It was wrong; I know that now. I was going to come back as soon as this case was over, I swear. Being here, working with Ryu and the rest of the task force, it showed me that I shouldn't isolate myself like I had been. Dad's death just... hit me hard."

"Yeah, it hit me hard too," Austin murmured. "And the only piece of family I had left disappeared right after it happened."

"Shit, Austin, I have to go back out there in a second and if I'm not myself, they'll notice," I breathed. "Give me a break, man. All I can say right now is sorry. There's no excuse. I was wrong. But we don't have time to talk about that. How did you find us?"

"Contacts through work," Austin said, breaking our gaze. "They don't know about your detective pal or the Kira case being involved. They don't even know you're my sister. I told them you had valuable information I needed for my most recent job. I'm high up in the agency now; no one batted an eye, and no one will for at least two months. Anyway, I gave someone your photo, they eventually matched it with that Nina Forner ID of yours with the airlines."

"Knew I should have deleted those off their database," I grumbled to myself.

"They then used the same photo and followed that fake ID to the hotel you were staying at," Austin went on as if I hadn't said anything. "Noticed a pattern of you swapping hotels every three days, but you had just checked into this one when I got all the intel. I dropped everything and flew over."

"For someone who's worse at hacking and computers than I am, you know your stuff," I admitted.

"You're not that much better than me," Austin argued.

I waved him off. "Yeah sure. Anyway, you do realize that Ryu is going to demand your agency's name and info?"

"I told you that they have no clue he's here or that this has anything to do with the Kira case," Austin insisted.

"He won't care," I said. "He'll need their info so that he can ensure we aren't going to be compromised in any way. And I'll probably have to switch IDs." I sighed and headed for the bathroom. "Our guest is staying longer than I thought. You're going to be stuck in here a little while. If you're hungry there's some Pocky and KitKats in the drawer."

Austin opened the drawer at that. He pulled out a piece of wrapped candy. "Sake flavor?" he asked, perking a brow at me.

"It's good, okay?" I hissed the words through my teeth. "I'm taking a shower." I shot a small glare toward Nox as my brother turned away, warning the Shinigami to stay out here.

"I won't peep," Nox promised with an irritated wave of his hand. "Like you even need to tell me anymore."

I had to make the shower fast. Hopefully with the water running so long it just seemed like I took a longer one. Of course, I was sure L and the officers knew I was talking to Austin. It was Light I had to trick. Once I washed my hair and skin, I stepped out, rubbing a towel over my head. I used it to wipe a ribbon of clarity across the fogged mirror and stared at myself for a moment.

My skin was pallid—more than usual. I was starting to resemble L in that respect. Too much time inside working on the case. Of course, I worked plenty of other cases without leaving a building for days on end, but this was the longest lasting case I'd undergone. At least the circles beneath my eyes were barely noticeable. My blue hair was starting to fade a bit. I had already had to recolor and have it cut once while being over here. Looks like I was going to have to bed L to take me for one more appointment before we really dug into this next phase in our investigation.

Of course, Austin threw a wrench in nearly everything. I sighed and got dressed in some sweats and a tee shirt that was too big for me. It had a grumpy-looking fox on it with the text _"Seriously, shut up"_ beneath it. I then took my iPod off speaker and placed my headphones back on, leaving the left ear open.

"Still advent on music, I see," Austin noted softly when I emerged from the bathroom.

"Keeps me sane." Not a lie.

"Listen, Ja... er, Nina. Before you go back out there, there's something you need to know," Austin insisted.

"Can't it wait?" I groaned.

"No, because I don't want to say this in front of your detective friend," Austin said. "You need to know now. When you asked me to find his real name, I didn't have to go to Wammy House to find it."

I perked a brow, suddenly intrigued. "What do you mean?"

"I already knew his name," Austin whispered, his eyes never leaving mine. "I learned it from you. You used to call some of your toys that when you first came to our home. You got pissed when you caught me listening. You said... you said you promised him you'd never tell anyone. And I had no clue who you were talking about until you called me that day."

The floor had taken my feet hostage as it began to sink. My legs were locked into place and there was an insistent thrum in my neck. My heart pound, pound, pounded through me, as if trying to tell me something. As if echoing Austin's words. Confirming their truth.

It made no sense, I had no memory of this. Not possibly knowing L before or playing with toys and calling them "L Lawliet." I didn't even have any memories of coming home from somewhere else with my parents. That was why it was so earth-shattering when I overheard them talking about how I was adopted. So then why was I so certain Austin was right? Why did my very soul seem to sing with clarity the moment he told me this?

Wammy House. A place that Austin heard our parents talking about when they first brought me home. Was he trying to jog my memory? Was... was Wammy House where I came from?

"I..." I shook my head and closed my eyes.

Damn it Austin, that was way too big of a bomb to drop on me now! Light was in the other room writing up a message to the Second Kira posing as the real Kira. I had to go out there and analyze what he wrote with a clear mind. I should be out there watching him write—never taking my eyes off him to search for any clues or hints as to if he was in fact our target. Now how in the hell was I going to do this?

Watari... when he first picked me up at my apartment... he'd seemed so surprised to see me. I thought he was just shocked I was a young woman at the time. But after spending so much time with the older man, feeling so genuinely comfortable around him... For Watari to seem so shocked, it had to be something big, not just that I was a female and below the age of thirty. Hell, L was my age...

"Christmas potato pudding..." I breathed.

Austin seemed slightly amused. "Still do that weird form of cursing, huh?"

"I can't talk about this now," I said, shaking my head. "We— you— I— fuck, just play solitaire until we're done and if you don't beat my high score I'll be disappointed in you."

Austin saluted me and I slipped out of the room, heart still causing a firestorm in my chest.

"I seriously need to stop thinking that this can't get more interesting," Nox said as he stalked after me, snickering. "On and on it goes, a train with no breaks or destination."

Well, at least a train had rails. Right now I was fairly certain my life didn't.

* * *

 _ **IMPORTANT NOTICE (A/N):::**_

Hey guys, I hope you liked the chapter! I just wanted to pop in to thank you guys for the overwhelming support with this story. I'm so glad that so many people can connect with Jack and approve with how I keep L in character. This story means a lot to me—like you wouldn't believe.

However, I do have to drop a slightly unpleasant announcement: there won't be another update for this story until around mid December. There are several reasons behind this, so let me go through them with you.

1: I've reached how much I've had written out already and now officially need to write fresh chapters, which will make updating a bit more time consuming.

2: It's National Writing Month! (NanoWriMo). Basically, the challenge is to write out 50,000 words in the month, and this year I'm prioritizing my original works, specifically hardcore editing my second book. Due to a tragic file corruption I had a while back, I had to make the PDF version of the book back into a Word document and that TOTALLY screwed the formatting. So, since I was giving the first two books a major makeover, I figured I might as well retype out the sucker while editing. The second book is roughly over 130,000 words, and I'm at about 55,000 right now. The good news is, once this is done, I am never looking back at the first two books again and I can focus on getting the third book of the series out.

3: I am making a trip to another state between November 30 and December 5. My grandfather has Alzheimer's, and I am determined to go see him before... well, before he forgets who I am. It's pretty rough, especially since I just lost my grandmother to Parkinson's. So I ask that you guys give me a little leeway on that—I'm not certain how that trip will go or what my mental state will be when I get back.

All right, so those are all the main reasons, but I want to assure you guys, this story isn't going anywhere. Compared to some of my other fics, a month and a half hiatus is actually not that bad at all, to be fair, haha.

Again, thanks loads for the support. Jack adores it too. I'm actually planning on using her character in a future original piece (though she _might_ get a gender bend and be a male for that particular story). Hope you all had a hoppin' Halloween and have a great November! See you guys in December!

—Red


	22. Only With You

_L_

L held the piece of paper that Light had written his script on with his forefingers and thumbs as if it were a wet painting. He was just finishing reading when Jack's door opened and she stepped out, wearing sweat pants and an oversized shirt with an irate cartoon fox on it. The text beneath it read: " _Seriously, shut up,_ " and L had to keep himself from snorting in amusement. Her blue hair was damp, showing she had showered, but her expression was almost numb.

"Hey, Nina," Matsuda greeted her.

Jack was staring off blankly, her eyes unfocused. L lowered the paper in his hands to look at her, concern rising in his gut. Though the phrase was a cliche, she seriously looked like she'd seen a ghost.

"Nina?" Matsuda repeated, frowning at her.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," Jack said, turning to face him. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

"Do you need to rest?" Chief Yagami asked, peering at her worriedly.

"No, no," Jack replied, waving him off. "Pump me full of royal milk tea and I'll be ready to take down a thousand Kiras!"

L couldn't help but glance toward Light at her comment, searching for any reaction, but the young man's face remained neutral. He turned in his seat to look at her and gave her a smile.

"Gotta say, I admire your enthusiasm," he said.

L's brow twitched at how honeyed Light's words sounded. Clearing his throat, L regained the attention of the room and gestured with the paper in his hands.

"This is good, Light," he said. "But if we don't take out the part that says: 'It is fine with me to kill L' part..." L looked down at Light with an innocent expression, "I'll die."

Light laughed sheepishly. "I just thought Kira would have wanted to make sure L died," he said.

Out of the corner of his eye, L saw Jack narrow her eyes at the back of Light's head. L recalled their instant message conversation; he recalled that Shinigami existed and there were notebooks that could kill. There was no way to see the Shinigami unless one touched the Death Note, so there was no way to tell, but L wondered if Light had a death god hovering near him right then. It nearly sent chills down his spine.

"I was just kidding," Light added after L didn't respond to him right away. "You can take it out."

"Okay," L said, turning toward Aizawa. "Aizawa, the draft is done, can you please take care of the rest?"

"Yes," Aizawa took the paper, crossed out one of the sentences on it, then hurried out of the room.

They had the tape created and delivered to Sakura TV in a similar fashion as the previous tapes they received. The news station was not informed that this tape was created by the police—L wanted to ensure that it was believed that the tape came from Kira. The instructions on it were to play it at 5:00 PM, so most of the day was still open to them.

"If you don't mind, I would like to have some time alone," L said. "That is, if you could return to the police station, and Light, your home. I appreciate all your assistance today."

"Of course, Ryuzaki," Yagami said, bowing his head. There was a knowing gleam in his eyes; he knew that L wanted to speak with Jack's brother.

"I'll just hang in my room, if that's cool," Jack said. "Kinda live here for the moment, soooo..."

L offered her a light smile and shook his head. "I'll go to my room, Nina."

"Thank you for letting me help, Ryuzaki," Light said, offering his hand to L.

L eyed it for a moment before shaking it. "Of course. Your assistance is invaluable, Light."

The officers all said their goodbyes and them, along with Light Yagami, filed out of the hotel room. Once the door was closed and locked, Jack exhaled sharply and looked at L.

"Well. This has been a day full of nothing but disarray," she said in English.

"Couldn't agree more," L replied, reverting to the same language. "Have you spoken to your brother?"

"A little," Jack said. "I know, I know, you want to know how he found us."

L nodded, his movements a bit tight. If someone could track down where they were staying, who was to say Kira couldn't? That is, if Light Yagami wasn't Kira.

"Austin works for an intelligence agency," Jack explained. "I don't know much about them, but to put things into perspective, Austin is almost as good as me at hacking and he has a lot more resources than me. He tracked _me_ down, not you. Used security cameras and facial recognition software, along with taking a peak at the airline's databases. Linked everything together. Found out my alias, saw the check-in info at this hotel. Pretty standard for tracking someone down."

L blinked at her a few times and rubbed the back of his neck. It all made sense. After all, Jack said she alienated her brother nearly a year ago, so it wasn't surprising that he would try to find her. Yet all the same, L worried.

"The only reason he found me was because he has loads of pictures of me," Jack insisted, seeming to sense L's discomfort. "I don't think a photo of you exists. So, no worries."

"This is still dangerous," L replied. "Another individual involved, another person who knows your true name, is in Japan where Kira is."

Jack hesitated for a moment, adverting her gaze and biting her lip. L furrowed his brows at her actions, wondering why she looked sheepish. He took a step closer to her, gazing down into her eyes until she looked back at him.

"What aren't you telling me?" L asked, his voice hardly more than a whisper.

"I just... Look, this is all so complicated," Jack said, shaking her head. "Everything is hitting the fan at once, and I'm just trying to keep up, you know? So... so can you just give me time on this one? I promise you, it's nothing that's... It isn't going to hinder the case, all right? And I will tell you, just... not right now, okay? Please?"

There was sheer desperation both in Jack's eyes and voice. L pursed his lips into a tight line and took a step back from her, exhaling through his nose. Once again, Jack had a secret that she insisted wasn't dangerous. Her last secret, Nox and the Death Note, was incredibly detrimental to the case and to her life. What if this new secret was just as damning?

"Jack..." L began.

Jack shook her head at him. "No, I'm serious, L. I don't want to get into it yet; I _can't._ So just back off it for now, because you'll only drive yourself crazy."

L pressed his lips into a tight line. Jack's expression show both anxious confusion and a little bit of fear. How could L just let it go, even if she promised to tell him later?

"I'm meant to be focusing on a case," L said in a low, warning tone. "The biggest case either of us have ever seen. Jack, I can't keep this up if you insist on gathering more secrets to keep from me!"

"It's not like I asked for this one!" Jack shouted back. "I didn't ask for Austin to track me down, I didn't ask him to come in here and-and... Look, I told you, it won't effect the case, it will only... Ugh! Just let me figure it out first, okay?"

L shook his head, bewildered. "Why won't you let me help you?" he asked.

Jack ran her hands through her hair and then gripped it tightly, winding her fingers in the blue locks. Her face pinched in momentary anguish, and her eyes watered up. L's heart stammered. Clearly, whatever it was that Austin told her had her upset—beyond upset. So L exhaled softly and adverted his gaze.

"All right," he said gently. "But I need to talk to you brother."

"Yeah, yeah of course you do," Jack sighed and headed to her bedroom door.

After a moment, she returned into the living room with Austin just behind her. He had blond hair and aqua-green eyes; he looked a lot like his late father, based on the photos L had found of Shaun Townsend.

"Ryuzaki," Austin greeted, bowing his head slightly and offering his hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."

L eeyed his hand for a moment before taking it and shaking. "You as well. Nina has told me a lot about you."

"Good things, I hope," Austin said with a wary smile.

The three of them sat down in the living room, L in a chair and Jack and Austin on the sofa. L asked Austin about how he found them and he gave the same story Jack had. He even gave L the name of his agency: Serenity. Apparently they were often hired to do a lot of Robin Hood type work—take from the rich, give to the poor, pester corrupt politicians until they stepped down, etc. It wasn't far from what Jack did, but Serenity never delve into police work strictly.

"They can't know I used company resources for a personal matter," Austin stressed. "You don't exactly get fired from Serenity. I don't think they'd _kill_ me, but I'd rather not find out about their severance proceeders."

"I'll look into it," Jack said. "Now that I've got a name, I'll be able to check up on all the things your little agency is doing."

"It's not little," Austin insisted. "We've worked with Anonymous a good number of times, hacked into major news networks, taken money from some pretty high name people, too."

"Like who?" Jack asked.

Austin smirked a little. "Steve Jobs."

"No way!" Jack punched his arm lightly. "That's a good one, bro!"

"Can we please get back on task?" L asked.

"Sorry," Austin said, but he and Jack shared a grin. It seemed despite how Jack had cut him out of her life, they were reconnecting rather well.

"What do you plan to do from here?" L said, looking at Austin critically.

Austin sighed and shrugged. "I didn't really think that far. This was the first chance I'd had to find Ja—er, Nina—since she took off." He shot her a small glare and L realized that there might still be resentment brewing in there after all.

"I'm sorry," Jack said sincerely. "It was to protect you."

"From what?" Austin demanded incredulously. "It was seven months before this whole Kira thing even started!"

Jack pursed her lips. L knew that it was because of Nox and the Death Note that Jack distanced herself from her brother, but she couldn't exactly tell him that. Nox could very well kill her for giving away her secret.

"I was... involved in another case," Jack murmured. "A dangerous one. And, I dunno, I suppose I just started to think—what if someone figured out who I was? What if they targeted my family to get to me? So I decided to keep you safe and distance myself."

Austin shook his head and glared at the ground. "You know I can defend myself."

"Yeah, well, I also know there's someone out there that can kill with just a name and a face. _And_ someone who apparently just needs the first part," Jack retorted.

"Wait, what?" Austin blinked in astonishment and looked back at his sister.

"We suspect that there is a Second Kira," L said. "He's the reason for your sister's cast."

Jack lifted her casted arm and grinned.

"Well, in all honesty, Ni... _Jack_ is responsible for it as well," L added.

"You said my name! Does this mean we trust Austin?" Jack smiled at him.

L sighed and waved her off. "I have no reason to suspect him of being Kira, it wouldn't make any sense. He doesn't fit any of what I've profiled. Besides, he's your brother."

"Thank you, Ryuzaki," Austin said earnestly.

"When it's just us, you can call me L," L replied. "I appreciate you being so forthcoming about your agency and how you found us."

"Well, I figured trying to hide anything from you would be pointless," Austin said. "Besides, I bet I can convince my agency to help you. After all, there's probably some reward cash for catching Kira."

"More resources are always welcome." L bowed his head slightly toward Austin.

Jack let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in the couch. Her headphones were still on, her right ear exposed to hear L and Austin. Her green eyes would lock on something across the room every so often—Nox, L assumed. He pursed his lips and grabbed a small candy from the dish on the coffee table. Things were going to be even _more_ complicated with Austin here.

"Listen, I don't want Light knowing about Austin," Jack said to L. "I get that we don't have anything solid on him, but I don't want anyone who we have the slightest suspicion of knowing about him, all right?"

"Of course." L gave her a reassuring nod. "Hopefully we can have him out of Japan within the next fifteen hours."

"Whoa, wait, what?" Austin—who was sitting between L and Jack—looked between them with wide eyes. "No, I'm not leaving! I want to help!"

"Tough titties," Jack said. "Aussie, I've got a case to work on, and worrying about you is only going to exacerbate things!"

"Do you know what I've been through the past year?" Austin spat, standing up from the couch and leering down at Jack. "It was only five months since Dad died that you disappeared. You were— _are_ —all I have left! My mind went wild with theories! You were so different after Dad and I... Jack, I thought you were dead. I thought you killed yourself."

Tears were lacing Austin's eyes. L suddenly felt like he was intruding on a private affair. His eyes darted between Austin and Jack. The latter was gaping up at her big brother with an expression of horror and anguish. Slowly, she got to her feet as well and shook her head.

"No, Austin, no..." she murmured, blinking rapidly. "I... I'm so sorry. I was selfish, and I know that. I just shut you out after Dad died and... but I promise, I was trying to protect you."

"The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, right?" Austin said. "You running off all on your own... look at what it's done—you're arm! I saw the news clips, Jack, you could have gotten killed!"

Jack winced at his tone and adverted her gaze. "It was the wrong move to just cut you out, I see that now. But you don't understand—what fell in my lap... what I had to deal with... it wasn't..." She shook her head again and closed her eyes tightly.

Both L and Austin gasped when Jack's shoulders began to tremble and a soft sob left her. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked between them with desperation and helplessness.

"This just isn't fair, y'know?" she rasped.

More tears—more vulnerability.

L didn't know what to do. He started to rise from his seat, but before he could do more, Austin had already taken Jack into his arms. He patted his sister's back and head, appearing distraught.

"I'm sorry, Jack, I can't imagine what you've been going through," he whispered gently. "But I'm here now, okay? C'mon..."

L sank back down into his seat, feeling utterly useless and awkward. He wanted to think that he would be able to comfort Jack just as well as Austin, had he not been there, but some self-doubting part of himself denied it. Jack allowed her brother to hug her and her arms wrapped around him. For a moment, they just stood there, eyes closed and holding one another tightly. L adverted his gaze, a strange sensation claiming his gut.

"Listen, Aussie, I'm glad that you... well, that you know I'm alive," Jack said, finally breaking the hug and wiping her eyes hastily. "But this case... You _can't_ be here."

"I want to help," Austin insisted. "You know I can."

"No," Jack replied harshly. "How the hell am I meant to focus on this case when I'm worried about Kira killing you? You have to go back to the States. Or Canada. Wherever your agency has you stationed."

"Scotland, at the moment," Austin said. "But I'm not going back, not until this Kira thing is solved."

Jack made an exacerbated gesture with her hands, lifting them toward Austin and balling them into fists. "Why must you be so difficult? Austin, you being here will _hurt_ the investigation, not help it!"

"Ouch," Austin said, putting a hand over his heart as if he'd been physically wounded.

"It's not like—ugh, I know your smart and I know you're good with tech, but this is too damn delicate," Jack snapped.

"I have to agree with Jack," L said. "We are working directly with the only known suspect we have, and we just encountered another individual with Kira's abilities. This is dangerous."

"I know that," Austin pressed, looking between the two of them. "But I know how to work in the dark, where no one will see me. I can even stay in different hotels. You can contact me through a web call, just like how you communicate, L. I don't have a fancy emblem like you two, but hey, if you have someone on the outside and something happens to everyone but this suspect of yours? I'll know who it is."

L pursed his lips. That's what he had Watari do today, but Watari was vital to be close by as well. It wouldn't hurt to have yet another member of the task force be a faceless entity. Jack saw the look on L's face and shook her head.

"No!" she said. "No, no, _no._ Austin is not staying here! I'm not having someone else I love be a potential target!"

L's heart slammed itself into his ribcage. He gaped at Jack with his jaw going slack and his eyes stretching wide. Jack seemed to realize what she said and her cheeks began to flush with color. Austin peered at her with a curious frown.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"W-well..." Jack stammered. "It... it was Dad, Austin." She faced her brother and her expression steeled over. "He was killed in the same way that Kira is killing his victims. That's kind of how I got involved with this mess."

"Kira killed Dad?" Austin exclaimed.

"No." Jack shook her head. "Someone else who has the same ability... well, _had._ " She abruptly looked to her left and narrowed her eyes. "Shut _up_ , Nox, I'm not breaking the rules!"

Austin blinked in confusion, looking in the same direction as Jack. "Er... who're you talking to?"

Jack exhaled sharply through her nose. "Nox. Uh, bro, you know my condition? Well, I have a constant ghost now and his name is Nox and he is a royal prick."

Austin blinked rapidly. "You haven't had a regular for years," he murmured, concern arresting his expression.

"The wonders of stress!" Jack spread her arms wide in a grand fashion.

L glanced between the two of them, feeling a bit left out again. The phrasing that the two of them used... it was almost like they had their own dialect, if not language.

"Anyway," Jack went on, shaking her head. "Nah, it wasn't Kira, it was someone else who possessed the same ability, for a time, at least."

Austin's eyes suddenly stretched wide. "Victor Skor. You're kidding... he...?"

Jack gave a tight-lipped nod.

"But how?" Austin breathed.

Jack shrugged. "What do you think we're trying to figure out?" she said, glancing toward where L knew Nox must be looming.

"Well, Skor clearly doesn't have that ability now... otherwise I'm fairly certain a lot more people would be dead," Austin said.

"I can allow you to look over our notes and files here," L told him. "You might as well get up to speed if you insist on staying. But none of the papers can leave this room."

"Naturally," Austin said, giving L a nod. "Once I look over everything, I'll get to a hotel of my own. I think I'll be able to convince Serenity to work with you. After all, it isn't often that someone can assist the great L."

" _And_ the Cyber Detective! Oh, right, I'm not a part of this as far as the public knows." Jack pouted somewhat.

Austin chuckled and gripped her shoulder. "You've a bit too much showmanship to be a private detective."

"What can I say?" Jack started heading toward the kitchen. "I was made to be adored. I'm getting some tea on."

"Cheers," Austin called after her before turning to L.

He seemed a bit nervous with his sister gone. L looked him over curiously as he leaned forward to pluck a candy from the dish on the coffee table. From Jack's stories, L had painted a picture of Austin in his mind—intelligent, resourceful, caring, wild sense of humor to match his sister's. However, there was still something that L could tell he wasn't catching. Austin seemed almost squeamish to be left alone with L, but it wasn't anything to do with L himself. No, Austin's gaze was fleeting and his expression was nervous, almost sheepish.

"Have we crossed paths before?" L asked abruptly.

Austin met his eyes again and this time managed to hold the gaze. "I'm sorry?"

"Perhaps not directly, no," L mused. "I don't forget faces easily. But perhaps I've had unintentional run-ins with your agency. Perhaps you've had to combat me digitally."

"Combat...? No, no, no." Austin shook his head and his face was surprisingly sincere. "Serenity would never get involved with something that would require someone like you to stop them. I'll admit, not all our dealings are entirely legal, but we're not... I dunno if there's an exact category that you typically go after, actually, but I know they're typically the Big Bads, right?"

"I suppose that's one way to put it," L replied. "I'm inclined to believe you, Austin. But I can tell there's something you're hiding. Something to do with me."

Austin's jaw went slack for a brief moment before his face steeled over. "I dunno what you could mean."

L sighed and shook his head. "Jack assured me it won't hurt the case, and I believe her. I suppose distractions aren't welcomed right now anyway. Although, not knowing is a distraction in itself."

"It... it's not my place to tell," Austin whispered.

L met his eyes, pleasantly surprised by the man's honesty. He didn't continue to deny or defend like so many other people would. L found that he liked Austin.

"I know," L said. "Jack will tell me eventually. Until then, I suppose I'll just ignore the gnawing curiosity in the back of my head and focus on the case. Let me get you the files."

* * *

 _Jack_

I was beginning to think I was cursed. It was three days after Austin arrived and he was now off in Kyoto, helping us digitally from afar. He was still in the process of convincing his agency to assist us, and L was due to speak to them directly—well, as directly as he could with his emblem on a monitor. I was the one who insisted on Austin staying out of Tokyo. I didn't want him walking around and risk the Second Kira seeing his name.

It fathomed me that the same day I recognize that I had genuine feelings for L—that I _loved_ him—that Austin would show up and throw the biggest of all wrenches into everything. I'd known L from before. I was at Wammy House. Suddenly, Watari's reaction to seeing me for the first time made sense... the look of shock and his questions. He recognized me, but I didn't recognize him.

Somehow, I'd blocked all my memories from before my father, Shaun Townsend, adopted me. Typically, that was the result from psychological trauma. I knew Austin had more information on the subject and I was horrifically curious, but I opted to wait. There was too much in my mind; I had to focus on the case. Once we got Kira and now this Second Kira sorted, I'd be able to string together my past.

Of course, L's hunger for knowledge was unending. I could tell that he was trying to put it aside and just work the case, but there was a haunted gleam in his dark eyes every time he looked at me. I wanted to tell him, but I was afraid that the information would just bring more questions and completely derail us. Then, on top of all of that mess, my newfound acceptance of my feelings for the detective only served to make my heart jump and skip every time L touched me or said something intimate.

All in all, everything was a cesspool of confusing, frustrating, obnoxious shit.

Our message to the Second Kira was due to be released that day and I headed out into the living room in my oversized PJs, fiddling with my headphones' cord. L was sitting in one of the chairs near the coffee table, eating some waffles.

"When's it due on?" I asked.

L blinked and looked around, only just noticing me. "Hm? Mm." He swallowed his mouthful of food. "Two hours."

"Sounds like an eternity," I muttered as I sat down on the sofa and grabbed a plate.

"Agreed," Nox grumbled as he stalked across the room. So far, the Shinigami didn't seem to suspect anything. It was a relief that L finally knew the truth, but at the same time it made things more nerve-racking than ever. I wasn't sure if Nox would kill not only me, but L as well if he learned what I'd done.

L watched me stack a couple of waffles and begin to lather them in butter. He slowly put his own plate down and wiped his mouth with his thumb. When he began to adjust himself in his seat, I looked over at him fidgeting. He was in his usual perched position, but he was shifting his weight foot to foot and eyeing me.

"Is my bedhead that bad?" I said, perking a brow.

"It isn't that." L shook his head. "Besides, the bedhead adds a certain charm, I think."

"So then why are you looking so apprehensive?" I queried. "If it's about what Austin—"

"No," L interjected. "It isn't that either."

I frowned and stared at him expectantly. He sighed heavily and adverted his gave briefly.

"Why d'you need the music?" he finally asked, his words quick and abrupt.

I blinked, rather startled that _that_ was his question. He'd never pressed about it before, and I felt there were so many more intriguing things for him to be asking about at the moment. I paused in buttering my waffles and pursed my lips for a moment.

"Originally, I only listened to music at night, to help me sleep," I said. "My... condition makes me hear voices, but it isn't Beautiful Mind or anything like that... It's indistinct. I call it 'restaurant chatter.' Sometimes, it would be so loud that I wouldn't be able to sleep. Music helps drown it out."

"And now?" L prompted gently.

I shrugged lightly. "When my dad died, something in me broke, I think. I've always struggled with the severe social anxiety and the depression side of the bullshit that's in my brain. My dad helped me cope. Then he was gone. The music... it... distracts me."

L furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

I looked at my waffles, though my appetite was gone. I exhaled slowly and swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat. "You don't want to know."

Nox gave a small grunt. I glanced toward him and saw that though he seemed to be attempting his usual snarky smirk, there was... empathy in his expression. His single blue eye met mine and he pursed his lips tightly. I knew he was recalling the night we met.

For a moment, there was silence. Then, I felt pressure on the couch cushion beside me and saw L sitting down in his weird bird-like way. He looked me over, his expression empathetic and concerned. It made him seem oddly vulnerable.

"I am aware of the dark places the mind tends to wander," he murmured softly. "I know the lull of that void. I recognize the voice of that deep, endless, sorrow. Sometimes, I think the only reason that I keep chasing these cases is for distraction. I love the challenge and I love to put my wits to the limit, but at the same time, when I'm on a case there is seldom room of thinking about anything else."

"L..." I slowly shook my head at him. "You don't have to tell me this..."

"I _want_ to," L replied. "And don't get me wrong, this isn't a ploy to get you to talk about what Austin said to you the other day. I just want to understand you more, if that's all right."

"I thought you were satisfied with how much you already knew?" I said, frowning at him.

L's mouth twitched in a slight smile. "I don't think I could ever learn enough when it comes to you, Jack."

My cheeks warmed and I cleared my throat as if I'd choked on some of my own saliva. I thumped my chest with a fist and took a drink of milk from the jug on the table.

"Sorry," I rasped. "Er... yeah, well, that's what kind of started our little info digging war on our first case, isn't it?"

"I guess," L replied. "So... the music..."

"It... I suppose it makes me feel safe," I explained. "It forces those pesky thoughts and urges to at least skip a bit—a scratch in their CD, if you will. I don't get them nearly as much now, but I've been listening to the music for so long, I'm not certain I know how to cope without it. Not to mention Nox." I turned my head to stick my tongue out playfully at him.

"Hey, you know I'm growing on you." Nox smiled ear-to-ear. "I'm like a cancerous cyst."

"Ew, no, you're more like a weird spider that freaked me out at first but now I just kinda like watching it move around," I told him.

Nox laughed while L exhaled softly in amusement. However, when I turned to face the detective, his expression grew pensive and wary.

"Perhaps it's time to find out," he said.

"Hm? The-the music thing? What, here? Now?" I scooted away from him a bit. "Er, n-no, not today. We've a case to solve, L, a pretty intense one. I don't think it would be the best idea to... It would be quite distracting, you see."

Conflict rose in L's face and there was something in his eyes that I couldn't place. He pressed his lips into a tight line as he gripped his knees.

"What if something happens to where you lose your headphones?" he asked. "When you took off to Sakura Station, you had your earbuds, but what if they came out? What if you iPod was damaged? Jack... I understand what it means to you, but it's also a crutch."

His words hit me hard. I looked away from him and stared at the coffee table with a pounding heart. L, per usual, was completely right. However, teaching myself to live without the constant music was like suggesting a fish run on land. Sure, there were walking catfish and mudskippers, but I was fairly certain that I was one of those weird deep sea jellyfish that were transparent and fragile. Either that or a vampire octopus.

"I'm sorry," L suddenly said. "I shouldn't have said... just, never mind."

I turned to see him slowly getting off the sofa to return to his chair. In that moment, something seized me—something I couldn't identify, something that had no direct definition. I reached out and grabbed L's wrist before he could get far. He blinked in surprise and looked down at me in confusion.

"Jack, I didn't mean—" he began.

I took off my headphones.

L gasped in shock as I released him and held my hands out in front of me, tempted to put them over my so-very-naked ears. At first, I didn't notice much. The song I'd been listening to had been upbeat and cheery, and the abrupt silence almost seemed like it could be part of it. But then the silence stretched. It lingered and soon a high ringing began to pierce me. My breath quickened and my heart pounded, desperate to break free of its cage.

The ringing stabbed into me. It was beyond sound, beyond reality. It was like it held every single mistake I'd ever made, every shitty thing I'd said and done, every person I'd lost and every reason why I shouldn't be...

 _Alive._

Unending, unrelenting, a crescendo of doubt and pain and loss, all in a single piercing sound.

But then, there were arms around me. I gasped as L pulled me into his lap on the other side of the sofa. He cradled me against his chest and stroked my blue hair as he softly breathed, "Shh, shh, shh..."

The ringing began to subside as I curled into a ball against the detective. It slowly turned into something more rounded, a sound that was muted but at the same time humming gently against me. I didn't notice the tears rolling down my face until the neck of my pajama shirt was soaked.

"Here," L murmured softly, reaching with his long arm to snag my headphones on the other side of the sofa. "I'm sorry, I should have never—"

Yet as he tried to put them back on my head, I put up a hand to grab them. L furrowed his brows at me.

"Jack, you don't have to prove anything," he whispered.

"I know that," I replied, equally as soft. "But I... I think I realized something."

L frowned at me curiously. "What?"

"When I was young, I didn't take care of my hair," I said, meeting his gaze. "I had it long and it was always just this tangled mess. My mother used to say, 'One day, you'll have a crush on someone, and then you'll take care of that hair.'"

L's face grew even more confused. "...Okay?"

I laughed softly. "It's okay, I didn't see it at first either. Think about that. I was told that I would eventually find the want to take care of myself in order to please someone else. But what about me, you know? Why couldn't my mother tell me that I should want to take care of myself for _me._ And for a really long time, I've been putting my self worth into other people. How can people live like that? How have I not just... given up?"

L's eyes went from confused to concerned. He tightened his arms around me somewhat, pulling me closer into him. "Jack..."

"Hang on, let me finish," I insisted. "I think that I kicked that way of thinking a while ago. I started to see my own worth, and I became the Cyber Detective. I cut my hair, dyed it crazy colors, and I didn't need to have anyone else around to do it for. But for all my self-confidence, there are times when... when we need to realize that we need help."

I sniffled and wiped my tears and nose on my sleeve before giving out a shaky breath. I then smiled up at L and cupped the side of his face in one of my hands.

"It's important to be strong alone," I whispered, "but it's important to reach out when we don't have the strength to stand. Music has helped me through so much, but now it's time to move past it—to regain my independence. And... and as much as it sucks ass to say, I think I need help."

L slowly smiled at me, his gaze warm. "Then let me be your music for a while."

I felt tears threaten me again at his words. "You're oddly romantic when you want to be, aren't you?"

The words were out before I could stop them. L's eyes widened momentarily and my heart stammered. _Romantic._ How could I say something so blunt? However, the detective decided to surprise me.

"Only with you," L murmured.

I stared into his dark eyes, my mouth slightly agape. L seemed uncertain of himself as his gaze darted all over my face. It was like he was searching for the answer to an unasked question. His arms around me were so warm and welcoming. I felt safe—I felt like I was home.

Then, hesitantly, L leaned his face closer to mine. I mimicked his motions, inching toward him as one of his hands ran up my back to cup the back of my neck. When our lips met, a jolt went through me. Electricity poured into my veins, leaping its way through my entire body. I had seen all the romance movies and read a good number of young adult novels, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

It was so much more.

We were clumsy in our kiss; after all, neither of us were exactly experienced. Yet somehow, we were able to swiftly learn each other's patterns. It was an embrace that was beyond description. I was consumed by him, and he by me. We were a single entity in that moment, and all other thoughts and cares had dissolved to the wind.

When we separated, both of us were breathing shakily. Nox let out a long slow whistle that earned him a glare from me before I laughed weakly and turned back to L.

"Did... uh... did we just really...?" I stammered.

L swallowed and gave a tiny nod. His dark eyes with wide with both fright and surprise. He held me differently—like I was a fragile newborn and he'd never touched a baby in his life. There was so much tension in his limbs; it reminded me of those collapsable dolls—the ones that remain upright until their button is pressed and that loosens all their strings. Except L's button seemed to be either broken or missing.

"I'm sorry," I breathed, a sudden horror rising in me. "I didn't... It wasn't meant to..."

L licked his lips nervously before taking a deep breath. His muscles relaxed somewhat, but he still looked uncomfortable. I quickly scrambled off of him and onto my side of the couch. The detective remained where he was, his legs in a normal seated position, which told me he wasn't okay.

"L..." I had no clue what to say. That it was a mistake? That I didn't mean it? I didn't think even I could lie like that. This was too close, too... true.

"Forgive me," L murmured, slowly bringing his knees toward his chest. "It... not much catches me off guard. I always thought I would know how it was... how to react... but..."

"Hang on." I leaned toward him. "Was that your first kiss?"

L adverted his gaze. "You don't have to make it sound so insulting."

"No, no!" I exclaimed, waving my hands apologetically. "It... It was mine too. I just... I guess being private detectives really makes the dating life a pain in the ass."

L chuckled briefly before shifting awkwardly in his seat again. He turned his head toward me and his brows were furrowed.

"Did you... find it pleasant?" he queried.

Nox was chortling near the kitchen. "You two are puke-worthy, you know that?" he called.

I ignored him, holding L's gaze while my heart pranced around in my chest. "It was... I think _pleasant_ is too bland."

"Is that a good thing?" L asked, his eyes almost hidden in the shadow of his bangs.

I let out a breathy laugh and worried my fingers in the folds of my pajama shirt. "Uh... yeah. Quite good. Er, very-very good."

L smiled, both with pleasure and amusement. "Jack, you're the only person I've ever felt comfortable around. Most people are... they can be too much, very quickly. Socializing with them exhausts me and I find that I need time to recharge in my own space, alone. But with you..."

He reached over and gently gripped my chin to tilt my face up toward his as he let his knees fold sideways onto the couch to lean closer to me. My breath caught, and even though I'd already finally discovered what kissing felt like, I was already yearning for more.

"It's like you're my battery pack," he said. "Somehow, you can recharge me."

"Wow, nerd," I said, making him smile and shake his head before leaning in to kiss me again.

The second one was more practiced, more precise. Rather than curiosity, it held hunger. I tangled my fingers into his dark hair and held him to me, moving my lips with his. It was still a bit messy, still a bit slobbery, but we were quickly finding finesse in the act. When we broke apart again, I let out a low groan and shook my head.

"What, what's wrong?" L asked.

"This. This!" I gestured to the two of us before I got up and starting pacing. "You know, I cut Austin out of my life so that I wouldn't have anything to lose. I didn't want anyone targeting those I care about while I try to take them down, you know?"

L sighed softly and nodded. "I understand how you feel. I've been... struggling with this for several months now."

"Yeah, and—hold up, wait, _months_?" I faced him again with one brow perked.

L shrugged sheepishly. "You... it's like I said, you recharge me. For so long, I move place to place without any real sense of belonging. There was Wammy House, and I thought perhaps that was home for me, but now I see that it isn't a place that's home—it's a person. It's you."

"That is some of the sappiest shit I've ever heard in my life, and I love it," I rasped, shaking my head at him before flinging myself down on him into a crushing hug.

L coughed and groaned under my sudden weight. "Okay, well, that wasn't an invitation to crush me."

I rolled away, but remained seated beside him, staring into his eyes.

"So," I sighed. "I suppose... this is a thing now? Our dating act becomes... real?"

"Is that what you want?" L inquired gently.

"It isn't that simple, L," I told him. "We still have Kira to deal with. Light might be our target and if he sees how much we... but I suppose that he already kind of sees that, doesn't he? That we're close."

"He won't hurt you," L vowed.

"Pfft, you think I'm worried about _me?_ " I scoffed. "Listen, this is... our job is horrifically dangerous. I've kept my distance from you because if anyone tried to use you against me, I'm not certain I could resist them." I gazed into his eyes intently. "You're too important to me."

"The way I see it, we were already at a relationship worth kidnapping before... before this." He gestured weakly between our lips.

I let out a weak laugh and shook my head. "You want to do this? For real? There's so much at risk and..."

"Listen," L said, reaching over and taking my hand gently. "I've had time to think this through quite thoroughly. I could say no, I could deny... my feelings for you, and we could just keep on with the case. But both of us know that just being coworkers—just being _friends_ —isn't going to ever be the same. That in itself will lead to a whole plethora of distractions. I figure... our relationship moving forward in such a harmonious way will in turn at least make the distractions that are inevitable, well, harmonious."

I blinked at him for a moment before grinning a bit. "You really have thought this through. Wish I could say the same, I've just kinda been... panicking."

L smiled back. "Sometimes, you tend to pants while I plot."

We kissed a third time, this one brief and warm. I hopped to my feet when we were done and cleared my throat loudly as I put my headphones back on. "All right, well, _I'm_ going to bed, before either of you—" I pointed between L and Nox, "—comes up with another idea to get us all killed." I started to walk toward my room and turned around dramatically just before entering it and closing the door. "Or worse! Expelled!"

"Did you just quote _Harry Potter_?" L asked incredulously.

"Maybe. I'm a Slytherin, what're you?" I rolled my eyes. "Never mind. Clearly a Ravenclaw. Although... maybe secretly a Hufflepuff with all that good will and loyalty."

L shook his head, but he was still smiling. I waved my own insanity off and shrugged.

"I get weird when I get nervous. Anyway, I'm gonna make sure Austin is gonna watch the news too. Be back out in a bit," I said before closing my bedroom door behind me.

Nox floated through the wall and groaned. "That was sickening to watch."

"Whatever, I bet you're a secret romantic," I said.

Nox snorted and sighed. "What was that Hufflestuff you were talking about?"

"You know, I think you'd be Hufflepuff too," I muttered. "Mm, maybe Ravenclaw with the whole curiosity thing. Or a Gryffindor acting way too tough."

"Why can't I be a Slytherin like you?" Nox asked.

"You'd have to be cunning," I retorted before sticking my tongue out at him.

Nox grinned his ear-to-ear terrifying grin and sat on the end of the bed, his long thin legs crossing. "Just be careful, Jack."

My smile faded at his dark tone and I met his gaze questioningly. Nox shrugged and adverted his gaze.

"There's a lot of death going around with this little project of yours. Now you've got two people you really care about here in Japan, and after seeing how you handled that Ukita guy's death..." The Shinigami glanced at my arm cast. "It would suck if you ended up dying for someone else. Y'know, that's one of the only ways to kill a Shinigami."

"Huh?" I frowned at him, suddenly intrigued.

"If a Shinigami does something to directly interfere with a mortal's death by utilizing their Death Note, they'll die," Nox said grimly, meeting my eyes. "I think that says something, right? Caring too much can kill death itself."

"I told you a long time ago, I'm not a Death God," I murmured.

Nox chuckled under his breath. "Yeah, I know. A shame. You'd be fun to hang out with for this cursed eternity. Guess I'll take what I can get. Just don't make me watch you die, all right?" His single blue eyes flashed with what seemed not like fury, but the promise of it.

"I don't plan on dying, Nox," I told him with a firm nod. Then I grinned again. "Yeah, you're a Hufflepuff for sure."

"What does that mean, is it an insult?" Nox demanded as I grabbed my laptop. "'Cause even if we're friends doesn't mean you can pick on me! I'm a Shinigami! That demands a certain amount of respect!"

I laughed and plopped down on my bed, opening my laptop. It seemed I already had a message from Austin on our secure server I made (with L's funding). The moment I read it, my smile melted from my face and my eyes went wide.

 _Jack, we need to talk about your father. Your real father._

* * *

A/N:::

Hello, darling readers, I apologize this is coming out later than I anticipated. I've been backed up with a lot of family issues as well as some health problems of my own and everything seemed to hit at once. With all that on top of the holidays, I didn't have much time to writing much of anything, even my original works. But regardless, here's the new chapter and I'm going to be switching my schedule up to biweekly on Fridays just to give myself some breathing room until things calm down. So you guys can expect the next update to be on Friday the 11th. Love all of you, hope you enjoyed and have a wonderful New Year!


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